Compatible
by Marshmallow Addict
Summary: The war ended and Hermione, along with many others, decided to return to Hogwarts for 7th year. And apparently, the Ministry wants to get involved in the students' love life. What will happen when Hermione finds herself compatible with Draco Malfoy? And Harry Potter? This could only end in drama.
1. Ch 1 : Two Down, One to Go

**Hi! This idea popped into my head, and I decided to start writing it. I know I'm not good at sticking to stories but I really want to continue this one. I'm going to stop myself right there, I don't want to ramble on my first chapter.**

 **Anyway, thanks for clicking on this story and please read and review! :)**

 **Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter. Santa didn't give it to me. I'm going to try it again next year!**

Chapter 1 : Two Down, One to Go

Hermione Granger entered the Great Hall at exactly 9 am with her two friends, Harry and Ron. The food and plates from breakfast were all gone and the long tables were replaced with desks and chairs facing the front. She took a seat and immediately started pondering about what this class would be about. It was supported by the Ministry, and she could only hope that this class would at least be interesting. After she shared this thought with Harry and Ron, she was met with similar replies from the both of them.

"Relax, Hermione. Whatever they have in store for us, you'll ace it. Smartest witch of our year, no?

"Blimey, you find History of Magic _interesting_. You've set your bar for 'interesting' very low. I'm sure this'll make your cut."

She smiled sheepishly, maybe she _was_ over reacting. Yes, that was it, she was still giddy about the whole Hogwarts-thing since it was her 7th year. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't do anything drastic, especially now that the war was over. At least, she hoped not. She put her bag next to her desk and took out a quill and an ink bottle. She set them neatly on the table as a woman, no doubt from the Ministry, entered the Hall and sat down in one of the teacher's seats. Other Ministry workers followed and lastly, Professor McGonagall, no, Headmaster McGonagall came in. She shut the tall doors behind her and made her way to the front.

She opened her mouth and every student in the Hall shut theirs.

"As you might have noticed, this class consists only of 6th and 7th years. The Ministry have informed us of their idea for this class and Hogwarts accepted it. The war has thankfully ended, but there were many deaths, injuries, and heartbreak. As a result, many witches and wizards have decided to get a divorce with their once-loved ones. But this problem is increasing, and you should all know what divorce is a very difficult subject in our magical world, which puts the Ministry in a dilemma. To prevent this problem from escalating, we have decided to, please excuse my language, play matchmaker."

Many gaped at the people standing before them. The Ministry. Play matchmaker? What an absurd idea. Hermione looked around her surrounding people to see their reaction. Many were blinking stupidly and others had their jaws dropped. Some were whispering excitedly, and some were claiming that this was an idiotic idea.

Headmaster McGonagall snapped her fingers as an attempt to quiet down the older students and surprisingly, it worked. Every eye was on her again. It took a moment for absolute silence, though.

"We will have to use a charm on every single one of you to have access to your interests, personalities and such. Then, we will make it into a small amulet. And the amulet will possess a power to pull itself towards the amulet that belongs to someone who is compatible for its owner when it is in 3 feet of it. And to disconnect the two amulets, the two people with have to say 'Merci Venus' at the same time. We will limit the number of compatible persons to three, in hopes that you will carry on a relationship with one of the three compatibles. And to make these amulets, we must use some ingredients that are usually used in love potions. So one might have the sudden urge to be with their compatibles, in other words, it might influence you to behave as if you are under a love potion. But it's influence will be somewhat weak, so it is not a big thing to worry about. We will get right to business, so if you'll please line up in front of the people that are standing behind me..." the Headmaster did not get a chance to finish her speech due to everyone rising to their feet and hurrying up to the Ministry workers. Hermione got in line and was happy to find herself the 5th in line.

Each worker asked the student for their names and put their wand to said student's head. They pulled out a strand of white hair-like substance, like the ones one would put into a pensive, and put them into a bottle with their names. They repeated this process until every student had their turn. Headmaster McGonagall informed them that their amulets would arrive at lunch and dismissed them.

Hermione Granger put away her quill and ink-bottle and slung her bag over her shoulder. As she was about to leave, someone bumped into her.

"Watch where you're going, Granger." Draco Malfoy hissed as he brushed the non-existent dust off of his robes. Hermione shot him down with a glare and he swaggered away to his next class.

"Insufferable git." Ron growled, he had witnessed the whole thing. "He bumped into you, not the other way around." Hermione smiled and assured him that Malfoy was the least of their worries.

"I wonder who my compatibles would be. I mean, it would have to be someone who's personality goes well with mine, no? And so far, no offense to both of you, I haven't met anyone who's like that at Hogwarts." said Hermione. Both boys shrugged and the three carried on with their conversation.

"So, how's sharing a dormitory with Malfoy?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and reminded him that it had only been 3 days. She added that she did not know why he had become one of the Head Boy. They all laughed and agreed that while Hermione deserved the Head Girl place, Malfoy did not.

The first half of the day passed by quickly and soon, it was time for lunch. Hermione sat down next to Ginny and Harry and Ron sat, facing them. Ginny and Hermione started trading thoughts on the whole love-amulet business while Harry and Ron started talking about Quidditch. The two girls agreed that the Ministry was ignorant, how could they have devised a plan to play matchmaker with the Hogwarts students?! Talk about nosy. The two boys carried on, rambling about how Gryffindor was going to win the house cup again.

Just then, the windows letting the owls in opened, and hundreds of owls swooped down. There was more than the usual number of birds, the Ministry's love-amulets was the reason, and many owls had a package in their mouths.

An owl made its way to Hermione and took landing on the table and nudged her to take the package, labeled 'To Miss Hermione Granger'. She obeyed the owl and petted it. It gave her an affectionate nip and flew off. She ripped off the packaging and discovered a box. She opened it and it revealed a necklace with a ruby-red amulet the size of her fingernail.

She turned to Ginny, who had the same necklace, except for the color, Ginny's was orange. They admired each other's amulet, along with their own, and turned to Harry and Ron. Hermione's amulet instantly connected with Harry's gold one. They both had an embarrassed look on their faces and quickly muttered 'Merci Venus' together. After the disconnection, Harry's gold amulet connect itself with Ginny's. Harry looked more surprised at finding two of his compatibles in such a short amount of time and they both said the two words.

There was a pregnant silence.

"One down, two to go." Hermione laughed awkwardly and the others followed. The uncomfortable laughter made the whole situation more unbearable, if possible.

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin tables, Pansy Parkinson was hitting her amulet and Draco's together in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to stick. She tried that for 5 more minutes, to Draco's annoyance. Draco's green amulet must have been annoyed, too, it decided to launch itself far away from Pansy's sickly pink one. It landed somewhere near the Gryffindor table and Draco glowered at the pouting, pug-like girl. He stood up with a sigh and walked over to the Gryffindor table to retrieve it, with Pansy trailing behind him.

Just as he found it, gleaming underneath the many lights on the ceiling, it pulled itself away. Draco's eyes widened as his green amulet connected itself with a red one. Someone was holding the chain that had the red amulet on it. Pansy opened her mouth and shut her eyes tightly. Draco recognized this action and his hands flew to cover his ears.

Pansy let out an ear-splitting shriek and everyone within a 25 feet radar winced. She turned to the owner of the amulet that was connected with her beloved Draco's. And yes, the owner was the Gryffindor Princess, Hermione Granger.

"You!" Pansy screamed. Hermione got to her feet and started taking backward steps. Pansy advanced closer to her. Hermione looked bewildered as she glanced at her amulet that had connected itself with a green one. Draco was trying to tear the amulets apart with his strength, but the amulets did not budge. Hermione's eyes widened. The green amulet belonged to Malfoy. The head boy who shared a mutual hatred with her. Ugh, she was disgusted. Pansy gripped Hermione's soft brown curls and pulled her closer.

"You!" Pansy repeated. Hermione closed her eyes as Pansy let out another shriek. "Why you? You don't deserve Draco!"

Hermione opened her eyes, guessing that Pansy was done. "First of all." she started in a business-like tone. "It's not like we have to get married or anything. We just happened to be compatible." Hermione shuddered at the word 'compatible.' "And please let go of my hair, or I swear, I will chop off yours."

Pansy let of Hermione's hair at once. She took a step backward, which made her about a foot closer to the Gryffindor table. Ron's amulet burst out of his grip and so did Pansy's. Pansy turned around and saw that her amulet had met with a orange-ish red amulet. Ron looked dumbfounded. After realizing that it belonged to Ron Weasly, Pansy looked as if she wanted to kill something. "And if you'll excuse me, I have to disconnect my amulet." Hermione finished and she marched up to a appalled Malfoy.

"Why you?!" Draco echoed Pansy's words. He looked stunned, then his expression turned to anger. "What did you do?!" he demanded in a deadly tone. Harry and Ron got to their feet and stood next to Hermione protectively.

"Our 'Mione didn't do anything." Harry replied indignantly.

"It's not her fault that she's compatible to a ferret." added Ron. Draco glared at Ron and he whipped out his wand and pointed at Ron. Ron and Harry got their wands out, too, and pointed it at Draco. Hermione put her hands on their shoulders as a sign that she could handle this. The three boys lowered their wands, but continued to give each other evil looks.

"Just say it with me, and we can get this over with. It's no use picking fights." Hermione said calmly. Inside, she was tearing her hair out in frustration. Harry was okay, it was right in assuming that they were compatible! They did get along well. Their personalities _were_ compatible. But Malfoy? No. It was _not_ okay. Maybe Malfoy's amulet became defective when it landed on the floor!

Pansy looked on the verge of tears. Draco gripped his head as if he had a massive headache and paid no attention to Hermione. Harry seemed to be fighting an urge to tackle Malfoy and Ginny's eyes were as big as saucers, her jaw dropping and almost hitting the floor. Ron was staring at Pansy and he looked like he wanted to puke. And almost everyone else in the Great Hall seem to have lost interest in the food put in front of them, they were paying their full attention to them. No one could blame them, Pansy _had_ made quite a ruckus.

"Two down, one to go." Hermione thought.

 **Like it? Hate it? Should I continue? Or give up? Please give me your opinion and I'll make sure I'll respond back! Thanks so much for reading and ciao!**


	2. Ch 2 : Berries and Peaches

**Hello again! Earlier today, I realized that I misplaced my file for the first chapter of this story and I replaced it with some other story! Thank you so much, _Monica04_ for pointing it out, I owe you! So sorry! I'm actually hitting myself on the head for acting like such a bimbo! :(**

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Hermione and the rest of the Year 6th and 7th students are the subject of the Ministry's newest experiment, aka the love amulet. Every single 6th and 7th Years get one and it will show one who is compatible. It will reveal 3 compatible people for one person each, and when one of the three people are close, the amulet will connect itself with the compatible person's amulet. Hermione has found out two out of three compatibles for her and they are Harry Potter, one of her two best friends, and Draco Malfoy, the boy who has tormented her ever since they met each other._

 **Disclaimer : If I did own the wonderful world of Harry Potter and everyone who inhabits it, would I be writing fanfiction? No. So let's put 1 and 1 together, shall we?**

Chapter 2 : Berries and Peaches

"Psst, did you hear? Hermione Granger in compatible to Draco Malfoy!"

"Lucky her, he's good-looking."

"What are you talking about? It's Malfoy who's lucky! Granger's hot!"

"Her amulet also connected with Potter's!"

"I've noticed that they are close."

"Malfoy and Granger are in different houses!"

"Some sort of twisted version of Romeo and Juliet."

Hermione sighed as she struggled to ignore the whispers and odd looks from the other students. The amulet's mortifying connection had happened just last night at dinner and somehow, the whole school knew about it. And they chose it to be their gossip topic for today.

She glared at some first years who were whispering loudly about her love life including a rather annoying ferret. They ran off in fright, the Head Girl was not someone to be messed with. She could hear rapid footsteps behind her and in a matter of seconds, an arm was draped on her shoulder. She turned and looked at the messy haired boy and he shot her a grin.

"Harry. Get your hands off of my shoulder." Hermione groaned as the volume of the whispers escalated. She didn't have to strain her ears to hear the students making up lies about the so-called triangle she, Harry and Malfoy were in.

Harry sent her a curious look, but an expression of realization dawned on his face and he removed his arm from her and put it at his side. He continued to walk besides Hermione stiffly as Ron caught up to them.

"Mate, I think my amulet's defective." Ron looked down at his amulet in disgust. "It just connected with Luny Lovegood's." He wrinkled his nose.

Hermione stiffled a giggle as she thought about the nargle-obsessed girl. Ron glared at her playfully, but he turned serious again. He wove a tale of how the worker had confused the ingredients for his amulet with eyes of newt and what-not. He claimed that that was why his amulet was attracted to amulets belonging to weird people.

"If it connects with Bulstrode's, I'll throw it off Gryffindor tower." he said solemnly.

Hermione realized that her amulet was glowing in a eerily way. She looked at Harry's gold one and found that it was glowing, too. She knew why they were doing that, of course. She had researched this particular amulet last night and found out some other facts that Headmast McGonagall did not mention. One of these facts was that it would glow when it was close to a compatible, it would connect itself only on its first time. She alerted the two boys and they nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

"So yours will be lighting up quite often, no?" Ginny asked. She had heard the three's conversation and was eager to participate in it as well. She waggled her eyebrows at Hermione and was met with a look of confusion.

"Because you spend a lot of your time as head girl with the head boy, who is Malfoy. And you spend most of your free time studying and hanging out with us, Harry, Ron and me." Ginny explained with a knowing smirk. Hermione scowled.

Hermione hastily changed the conversation. "What's our first class today?" she asked.

"Double Potions with Slughorn." Ron answered. He groaned as he reminded himself that his partner was none other than Pansy Parkinson. He complained that his amulet would be lighting up the whole time. Harry refused to feel bad for Ron and reminded him that his partner was Millicent Bulstrode. They both started arguing about who's partner was worse.

"Parkinson complains that her hair is weird!"

"Bulstrode doesn't do anything!"

"Parkinson messes everything up!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. She loved Harry and Ron like family, but sometimes, they were too immature to be worthy of talking to her. She waved bye to Ginny as the redhead turned left at a corner. Hermione walked off on her own, Harry and Ron not even realizing that she had deserted them.

As she was about to turn right at the corner, an invisible force drew her close to someone. She bumped into him and fell to the ground, which made the boy fall, too. Hermione turned her head to look at the boy. He was a fellow 7th year, from Ravenclaw. He had brown hair and enchanting blue eyes. Hermione apologized and tried to stand up, but discovered that she couldn't. She looked at the object that was preventing her from getting to her feet. It was her amulet. It had connected with the boy's blue one.

"Hi." Their eyes met and he smiled at her. He was good-looking. Hermione racked her brain to remember his name. "Hermione Granger, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded. "We should say it." he gestured to their amulets. They said the two magic words and the amulets separated themselves.

"I'm Evan Brooks." he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "I'll see you around." After flashing her a crooked grin, walked away. Hermione stared at his back for a moment, then made her way to Potions. So her compatibles were her best friend, her enemy, and a cute boy.

She walked into the Potions room. She said a polite hello to Professor Slughorn and he smiled at her, then reminded her of their weekly Slug-club gathering.

"More like Harry Potter fan club meeting." she thought as she recalled a particular memory of a meeting involving Slughorn badgering Harry about how he saved the wizarding world. Someone plopped down on the seat next to her and she grimaced when she came face to face with Draco Malfoy. He looked at her and sneered, shortly after, he became aware of the light protruding from his green amulet. Hermione sensed his alarm and told him the reason for its glow.

"No one asked you, Granger." he drawled as he sent her a dirty look. She happily returned his expression. When was Malfoy going to be civil? Hermione had low hopes for this improvement that was not going to take place anytime soon.

Harry and Ron came into the room and sat down in their seats. Harry looked pissed while Ron had a triumphant smile on his face. Hermione suspected that Ron won the small fight with Harry.

Slughorn announced that class was in session and the students who weren't in their seats quickly sat down. He told the class which potion they would be brewing, which turned out to be Amortentia. He asked the class about its properties and Hermione raised her hand up in the air. She recited the answer and smiled when the professor awarded the Gryffindor house 5 points. Ron flashed her a thumbs up.

Draco rolled his eyes, what a show off. But he had to admit that she was intelligent, she practically lived in the library according to rumors. Still, he would never admit that he aknowleged her intelligence, it would be a disgrace to the Slytherin house.

He laid back in his chair, Granger probably memorized the whole potions book, he had no doubt that she could brew this potion by herself, no matter how complicated it was. One thing led to another and Draco was soon imagining what Hermione's hair would feel like. It had been so bushy up until this year. Now it was this dark caramel color in soft curls that reached to the middle of her back. His eyes traveled lower and lower, and his eyes landed on her slender legs. She really did have nice legs, and she had a great figure.

Hermione was aware of Malfoy eyeing her. Normally, she would have told him off, but she had the strange urge to stare at him, too. She recognized this as a symptom of a love potion. The amulet did that, but it was not strong, so she could fight it.

Draco did not know that it was the amulet that he had hanging on his neck that was provoking him into admiring Granger's body. He mentally hit himself, why was he ogling Granger? He blamed it on the ugly Slytherin girls that made him desperate enough to stare at Granger.

Hermione stopped paying attention to Draco's wandering eyes and focused on brewing. After about an hour of intense brewing, the potion was at its last stage and Hermione was pleased to find that their potion, more like _her_ potion, was the farthest along. She let it simmer for a moment and leaned in to inhale its scent.

"Mmmmm," she moaned. It smelled heavenly, it had the smell of grass and new parchment and her favorite toothpaste. But it had another smell to it. It was very subtle, she could have easily mistaken it, but she didn't. Its scent was familiar, but it was nice. She back away from the potion and pushed it towards Malfoy. Even though he didn't do a single thing, it was still _their_ project, so she allowed him to smell it.

He sniffed it and he could feel himself relaxing. It smelled of the cookies his mother would make him when he was young and it also smelled like the air after a storm. He smelled something new, also. Something he had not detected since the last time he had smelled it. It smelled of berries and peaches? Huh. That was weird. It was Granger's smell. Probably her shampoo. He accidentally leaned in so close that his amulet made contact with the surface of the potion. He was alarmed for a second, but he shrugged it off. It's not like it was a human being, it wouldn't do anything. He wiped it with his robes and chose not to think about that matter. He turned his attention back to the potion. Why was the smell familiar?

Draco leaned in to sniff Hermione's hair before he could stop himself. Hermione froze when she saw Malfoy leaning into her. He sniffed her hair and then, sniffed the potion. He tried to tell himself that the smell was different, yet it was not. The smell added to his urge to hold her. He looked at her and saw that she was staring right back at him with a bewildered expression on her face. He realized what he did. He had inhaled her scent. He knew it and she knew it.

"That never happened, agreed?" he held out his hand. She took it and agreed. They made a silent pact to never talk about it. The two heads' amulets glimmered under the lights of the room, which only added to their glow.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only people who was aware of Draco Malfoy's accidental slip. Ron and Harry were aware, too. They had grown used to watching Hermione, mainly because she had the answers, but also because _Malfoy_ was close to her. There was no telling what he would attempt to do to Hermione. It took all of Ron's willpower to stop himself from hexing Malfoy, and Harry had this weird feeling in his chest and it was not pleasant. It told him to march over there and punch Malfoy. Harry did not give into its order to hurt Malfoy, he would love an excuse to take points off Gryffindor.

Hermione raised her hand and told Professor Slughorn that she was finished with the potion.

" _We_ are finished with the potion." Draco corrected with a smirk. Hermione glowered at him. He had done nothing! He had no right to be included! She barely managed to restrain herself from choking Malfoy and she smiled sweetly at him.

"Sorry, wasn't aware you were there." she shot back. Slughorn raised his eyebrows and checked to see if the potion was correct. He declared it 'superb' and Hermione glowed at the complement.

There was a loud boom. Everyone turned to where the noise had come from, and Neville was looking at the floor guiltily. "Sorry." he said meekly, when Professor Slughorn frowned at the odd substance splattered on the floor. His partner, Elizabeth Burke, hit his head and Neville winced. Malfoy snickered and Hermione rushed to help Neville. With a swish flick of her wand, Neville's shirt turned clean and she made the mess on the floor disappear. Neville muttered a thanks to her and sat down on his chair sheepishly.

After Slughorn dismissed them, Hermione turned to the door to hurry to her next class. She was walking down the moving stairs to Transfiguration when a hand latched on to her shoulder and spun her around. She found herself looking into Draco Malfoy's grey eyes. And with one swift motion, he put his lips on hers.

 **Thanks for reading! If you have any ideas on what should happen, or what you want, please feel free to leave a review! Or you can just leave a review. Oh great I sound like one of those needy writers. Sorry :) 'Till next time!**


	3. Ch 3 : Opposites Attract

**This chapter might be confusing, I was jumping from place to place and I wrote whatever my fingers wished. Thank you to everyone who decided to follow my story!**

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Hermione learns the identity of her third compatible, a handsome Ravenclaw boy in the same year as her. Later, in Potions, she brew Amortentia with her so-called partner, Draco Malfoy. After finishing the potion, the two both have a whiff of the strong love potion and Draco smells Hermione. Something fishy is happening, and they weren't the only ones to notice._

 **Disclaimer : I don't own Hermione or Draco or Hogwarts or McGonagall or Ron or Harry or...you get the gist, they all belong to the brilliant J.K. Rowling!**

Chapter 3 : Opposites Attract

The kiss lasted about 5 seconds. Hermione was frozen in place the whole time, trying to decipher what exactly was happening. The gears in her head were turning frantically, but her body refused to cooperate. She stood there, blinking stupidly until Draco pulled away.

Draco jumped and gaped at Hermione, who was doing the same thing. And worse of all, the kiss wasn't even private, they had done it in the open hallway where students were pouring out of the classrooms. Passing students looked stunned. Great. One more gossip topic for the others. Yay.

"Why did I do that?!" Draco yelled, not bothered about the looks he and Hermione were getting. Hermione snapped out of her trance-like state and opened her mouth to reply back.

"How should I know?!"

"You! You did something to me!" Draco glared at Hermione and by the look he was giving her, she was concerned about her health in the near future. Still, she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for nothing.

"I didn't do anything. It's _you_ who decided to kiss me." Hermione shot back, anger replacing the fear in her body. He had no right to just come up to her and press his lips to hers! Draco detected the rage in her voice and inhaled deeply to control his temper. It didn't work.

"I would never kiss you of all people willingly!" Draco shouted again, attracting even more attention. Now there was a small crowd gathered around them, watching their every move. The onlookers were whispering furiously into each other's each. If the two noticed, they didn't show it.

Hermione was at a loss for words. _She_ was walking to Transfiguration like a normal person. _She_ was _not_ the person who grabbed someone else's shoulders and forced that person to kiss them. She finally gathered up the words to say to him.

"Denial is never the answer, Malfoy."

Draco took a step closer to her, and Hermione took a step back out of instinct. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to them. Hermione looked to see who it was and saw the Evan that she had met earlier.

"'Stop harassing her." Evan said, pulling Hermione closer to him. Draco looked furious. He gave Evan one last enraged glare and stalked away.

"Thanks." Hermione stuttered. Evans grinned.

"No problem. Anyway, your next class is Transfiguration, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded. He flashed her another brilliant smile. "Me, too. I'll escort you there." He held his arm out playfully and Hermione took it.

During Transfiguration, Hermione couldn't bring herself to focus. Her eyes kept wandering to Evan, and she could not stop herself from staring. He caught her eyes a few times, and he smirked at her, which caused her to look away quickly. Hermione felt as if the air in the classroom was getting hotter and hotter.

At that time, Draco was thinking about Hermione. It was weird. He didn't want to kiss her, but he did. It was like he was possessed by a spirit or something. He just had the sudden urge and he put it to action without even thinking about its outcome. He decided to visit the headmaster after this class, third period was a free period, anyway. He hoped he didn't have to run into Granger or anything. His pride could only take so much.

When Professor Flitwick finally let the students go, Draco headed to the Headmaster's study. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Mate, what's wrong?" Blaise Zabini asked. "Still pissed about Granger?"

"No, what does she have to do with anything?" he asked innocently. Blaise rolled his eyes. Draco was a good actor, but he couldn't hide a single thing from him. He possessed the rare ability to read Draco like a book.

"Whatever you say." Blaise patted Draco on the back and walked away, smirking.

A pair of two 6th years got in Draco's way, causing him to almost fall. Their amulets were connected. They both muttered a sorry to the intimidating 7th year, said the two words and scrambled out of his way.

When he reached the entrance, he waited for the gargoyle to let him in. It did not do such a thing.

"Open up!" Draco barked at the stone gargoyle. It sprang to life and sent an annoyed look to Draco. "Password?" he barked back.

"I don't know the damn password!" he burst out.

"Orange tabby." someone said. The gargoyle leapt out of the way, making a path to the study. Draco turned around to thank, well maybe not thank, perhaps nod? to the person. It was Granger. The one person who he hoped not to run into.

"Professor McGonagall has a fondness for cats." Hermione shrugged as if it was a piece of information every student would know.

"Indeed I do." a voice rang out from inside the study, it was no doubt Headmaster McGonagall's. "You both may come in." Hermione looked hesitant, should she come in? She then realized that she had to consult the Headmaster about the mermaid in the shower, so she went in, too.

The headmaster raised her eyebrows, which was another way of asking students, 'Why are you here?' Draco opened his mouth first.

"Do you have any more information about the amulet?" he asked. "Headmaster." he added.

"I do not have a lot of experience with this particular amulet. It would be more help to visit the library and do some research." At this, Hermione took a hold of Draco's wrist to prevent him from leaving. She put her other hand into her bag and pulled out a book.

"This is the only book they have about the love amulet. You can return it to me later." she held out the book to him. He took the book without a thank you, and left without saying a goodbye.

"And you, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, the mermaid sculpture in the head's bathroom makes crude comments. I was wondering if it could be removed."

"Very well, I shall do something about it. Oh and would you like a copy of this?" The teacher smiled at her student and showed Hermione a piece of parchment.. Although she would never admit it, Hermione was one of her favorite students, she was hardworking and possessed talent. The teacher knew that she might be abusing her headmaster privileges, but she did want to reward Hermione. "It's a list of everyone's compatibles. I trust you will use it only for good."

"Oh really? Thank you! I promise I won't abuse it! Thank you, and have a nice day, Headmaster." She gave the teacher a big smile and left.

The day passed by smoothly. Hermione and Draco both dealt with the other students' questions about their 'relationship', by ignoring them, of course.

Lunch was not particularly exciting, except for Ron, who got a howler from Fred and George. "Make sure you wash your pants, Ronniekins! And remember to wipe after you did your business." Ron vowed to have revenge on his two brothers.

Draco was very suspicious about the amulet. The book offered some interesting facts, such as, _'The more powerful the compatibility is between the two people, the amulet will grow brighter when close.'_ He also found out that Amortentia made the amulet have more power, which would make it harder to resist an urge. 'That's why I kissed Granger. Ugh.' he thought.

He continued to read, until he got up to a page, where there was a note on the margins.

It read, _'Even though the amulet can be limited to a certain number of compatibles, the number could be less than the limited number. The limit for mine is 3, yet I have only one compatible.'_

Draco was not sure whether to believe it or not. He searched the book for evidence. He found it. _'The number of compatibles the amulet can identify can be limited. However, a person could only come in contact with 1 compatible, according to the space where the amulet is limited, or that particular person's personality. In that case, the effects of the amulet will focus one person, which will make the urges stronger.'_

So that was why I smelled her hair. And kissed her. He then started arguing with himself. 'Granger cannot be my only compatible! That's absurd!'

'It's almost been 24 hours, and all the others have found at least 2 compatibles!'

'NO!'

'Like Granger said, denial is never the-'

"NO! DON'T THINK ABOUT HER!'

'So you don't want to think about her? And her legs? And her nice-smelling hair? And-'

'Fuck off!'

'I'm you. I can't exactly fuck off, now can I?'

Draco hit his head on a nearby bookshelf. He got a glare and a furious _'shh!'_ from the librarian. "Bloody librarian." he grumbled under his breath.

"Don't bad mouth adults, Malfoy." scolded a feminine voice. Ugh. Granger.

"Listen, how many compatibles did you find?" he asked her. Maybe their only compatibles were each other.

"All three, why?"

Well that did not do anything to improve his mood. He might as well ask her their identities, they would probably resemble him, at least he knew that Granger had good taste. He was one of her compatibles, after all. He questioned her. She answered his question. It was Potter and that Evan bloke. They were nothing like him!

Hermione seemed to read his mind. "I know, you guys are different. I wonder why, too."

"Well I have better things to do than talk with _you_ , so I'll be going." He sneered at her and walked away. Hermione frowned. So much for being civil. He was about to exit the library when he realized that it was the smartest witch of the generation that he had just walked away from. He realized that she could be of help to his little...problem.

He rushed back to where she was.

"Actually, can you help me?" he asked. Hermione looked surprised, it wasn't everyday that a ferret asked for her assistance. If she were someone else, she would have rejected, but her being the generally nice person that she was, she accepted.

"With what?" she asked. Draco faltered, was it right for him to ask Hermione Granger, Gryffindor's Golden Girl, for assistance? What if she told everyone of his current situation? His reputation would be ruined. But then again, she was in Gryffindor. She wouldn't betray his secrets, would she? Loyalty was one of Gryffindors' traits.

"Well...I have this problem with the amulet. Do you have any piece of information on it? Besides the book? Perhaps a list of people who are compatible with each other, or something?"

Although Hermione was a little annoyed that he couldn't trust her to tell her everything, she had been expecting it. She was torn. She did have what he was asking her for, but should she help him? It was a private matter, to be honest.

"I do have something that could help you, but..." she trailed off.

"What?! I'll do anything!" he pleaded. He was too curious and he could not leave now that he knew that she could help him. She raised her eyebrows. 'She's cute when she does that.' said the voice in his head.

"NO! GO AWAY!" he yelled out loud. Hermione seemed to be alarmed. She awkwardly stood up, Draco looked at her. "Not you!" he told her. She sat back down.

Hermione thought for a few minutes. Eh, what was the worst that could happen? She searched through her bag and found the list in between two of her books. She held it out to him.

"You owe me."

"Whatever." he replied nonchalantly. His eyes flew down the parchment until he found his own name. Where others had three names next to their names, there was only one name next to his.

"No. It must be a mistake." he told himself. Hermione looked curious. She asked why. She tried to get the list back from him. It was only fair that he told her, she had helped him!

Draco held it out of her reach, so she would not be able to get it back. Hermione growled and stepped on his foot, which caused him to lose balance and fall on top of her. Even though the position they were in was very uncomfortable, she took advantage of the situation. She snatched the paper from him and she found his name.

"No...NO! This is unbelievable! I refuse to believe it!"

Draco got off her and pulled her up with him. She was staring down at the wrinkled parchment in her hands.

It read : _Draco Malfoy - Hermione Granger_

Hermione found her name on the paper. _Hermione Granger : Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Evan Brooks_

"But I have all three compatibles!" she said weakly. "This is not happening. It can't be possible! We're totally different!"

"Opposites attract." sing-songed a voice. Hermione turned around to find Luna standing in front of her.

"How much did you see?" Hermione demanded. Draco looked frightened of the queer girl, he took a step back.

"Not much. I just know that his," Luna pointed one finger at Malfoy, "only compatible is you. The Nargles alerted me." He wondered what nargles were, but Granger seemed to read his mind once again, and shot him a look that clearly meant, 'Don't ask.'

With a flourish of her long silver-blond hair, she pranced off, leaving the two dumbfounded teenagers behind.

 **Thanks for reading as always!**


	4. Ch 4 : A Visit to the Past

**I'm back with a new chapter! I want to thank you all the amazing people who followed, added it to favorites, and/or reviewed! You are all awesome!**

 **Beetle126:** Thanks so much for reviewing! You are so nice :) You get a cookie! *Hands out imaginary cookie*

 **Guest:** Thanks! And I'll make sure to include some of the other student's lives in the upcoming chapters! As for Ginny and Ron...I have something planned for them... *smiles mischievously*

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Draco starts to suspect the amulet's influence on him, which leads to him going to the Professor's study. He gets a book from Hermione on the amulet and finds out that Professor McGonagall had not given the students all the information on the matter, and finds out that he might not have all three compatibles. He alerts Hermione on this problem and with her information, he learns that his only compatible is Hermione Granger._

 **Disclaimer : Last time I checked, my name wasn't J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter 4 : A Visit to the Past

Draco plucked the parchment from Hermione's fingers, conveniently using her state of shock to his advantage. He hurried out of the library and he strode throught the hallways, stopping in front of the portrait, which was the entrance to the head chambers. He muttered the password to the couple on the portrait and they swung open to let him in.

He stomped over to the bathroom and opened the door, closing it with a _slam_ when he was inside. He turned the water on full blast and took off all his clothes. When the pool-like tub was half-full, he crawled inside. The lukewarm temperature of the bubbly water was to his liking and as each second past, he could feel himself relaxing. He let out a loud sigh. He was relieved that the chatty mermaid was asleep. It gave him time to think, to spend some time with himself.

"Why!" he demanded to the air. His voice echoed off the walls of the large bathroom and it silently faded into the atmosphere. He placed his wet head in his hands and massaged his temples. Why was his only compatible Granger, of all people? WHY?

He could feel the water cooling, it was not a big surprise, the water was not hot to begin with. He decided to fetch his wand from outside to cast a permanent warming charm on the water. He reluctantly got out of the water. He wrapped a towel around his waist and he opened the door, releasing the foggy mist outside.

He spotted his wand on a table and walked over to it.

"Listen Malfoy. Give me that list back, it's mine." said a voice from a nearby chair. It was Granger, who was too wrapped up in the book she was reading to look up. She obviously did not realize he was in nothing but a towel. If he were some other bloke, he would have become insecure of his body and fled to the bathroom. But it's Draco Malfoy we're talking about.

"Didn't your mother teach you that one should look at the person when they're talking to them?" Draco asked, forcing Hermione to scowl and look up from her book. As soon as her eyes came in contact with his almost-nude body, she shielded them with her hands.

"God, Draco, put some clothes on!" she screeched, a blush rising to color her cheeks. Draco smiled. He gave into the voice in his head that kept whispering, ' _She's cute._ ' She _was_ cute. It wasn't not like she was a Legilimens, at least, he hoped so.

"First names, huh, _Hermione_." he drawled her name in a sickly-sweet tone, secretly enjoying how it rolled off his tongue.

She blushed even harder from under her hands, which covered her whole face now. "It was a mistake. It slipped!" she insisted. Draco smirked. No way he was going back in the bathroom now, when Granger was just outside. He liked making fun of her. He liked how her eyes would light up and how her face would get red. He liked how she huffed indignantly.

He went inside, chuckling as he gathered up some comfortable clothes to wear. In a matter of seconds, he had slipped on a short-sleeved white shirt with some jeans. And yes, the jeans were muggle made. Wizards were no good at making clothes besides robes.

He went back to the common room and frowned when he saw that she had left during the short time that he spent getting dressed. So much for making fun of her.

Hermione was in the headmaster's study, since she had been summoned just a second ago. She sat in a chair facing Headmaster McGonagall, unsure of why she had been summoned. At last, Headmaster McGonagall opened her mouth to speak.

"Are you aware of yourself being Mr. Malfoy's only compatible?"

Hermione nodded. Headmaster McGonagall stared at the young woman sitting in front of her. She knew that the girl had to be informed of the importance of her decision.

"This matters greatly." Headmaster McGonagall said. Hermione was confused. "Do you know why I gave you the list, Miss Granger?"

"Because I'm head girl and you trust me...?" the last part came out like a question. The headmaster smiled.

"Yes, but it is only part of a reason. I would like to explain this whole situation to you, but I feel...no, I know that I would never be able to do justice to this story. Have you used a pensive before?"

"I have." Hermione replied, recalling a memory from the Hogwarts war. Harry had given her access to Snape's memory, needing someone to talk to.

"Then, please step into the pensive with me." The headmaster led her to another room with a table in the middle. It had a pensive in it. She held Hermione's hand, and together, they stepped into the memory.

 _Hermione looked around. She was in a hallway in Hogwarts, which was empty except for two boys and a girl. One boy had messy hair and greatly resembled Harry Potter. Hermione's eyes widened. The other boy had longer black hair and a hooked nose. The girl had long red locks and had green eyes. Harry's eyes. Hermione gasped. It was Harry's parents. And Snape._

 _"You must have realized the three? You are familiar with them, no?" the Headmaster looked at her student, who was staring at the three students in the memory. Hermione nodded._

 _"Stay away from her! You lost the duel! You lost her!" James Potter yelled at the greasy boy standing in front of him. The girl was standing somewhere in the middle of the two, horrified._

 _"She's my only compatible!" Snape yelled back, his hand flying down to the pocket of the robes for his wand. The other boy was faster. He pulled his wand out swiftly and pointed at the boy's throat. The girl was begging him not to continue._

 _"Come on, James! Let's just leave!" she pleaded._

 _James paid no attention to the redhead._

 _"So am I! And I won the duel, she's my girlfriend, you are nothing to her! Shall I remind you what the loser had to do? They had to step down quietly, they had to stay away from her!" James bellowed._

 _The girl was in tears. She was pulling at the furious boy's robes, in a failing attempt to lead him away from the other boy. She turned her attention to Snape._

 _"Please. Just go." she said quietly. James's eyes lit up in triumph._

 _"See, she doesn't want you here. She doesn't want anything to do with you, Snivellus." James spat. Lily looked like she regretted saying that._

The memory faded and soon, Hermione was in the room again, with Headmaster McGonagall at her side.

"That was a memory of the last time Hogwarts did the love-amulet event. The reason for its taking place was because it was when Voldemort was rising to power for the first time. We did not want the students rushing into relationships because of the war brewing, we wanted the best for their happiness. Unfortunately, there was a small problem. Two boys had the girl they both wanted as their compatible. Their identities are Severus Snape, James Potter. The girl was Lily Potter ree Evans. Severus had only one compatible, Lily. Two of Lily's compatibles were Severus and James. James had three compatibles and one of them was Lily. At the time, James and Lily were beginning to develop feelings for each other. Later on, Lily chose to be with James, and she married him. Do you know what happened to the other boy?" the teacher asked. Hermione nodded slowly.

"He lived a lonely life. And he died. Alone." Hermione realized that her current situation with Malfoy was somewhat similar to this.

"Yes, you are right. You are allowed to inform Mr. Malfoy of this event. I hope you will make the right choice, Miss Granger. You are dismissed." Hermione gulped at the Headmaster's choice of words. They were not pleasant words that would give one the thought of unicorns and rainbows.

Hermione came out of the study, still dazed by the memory. She walked back slowly to the heads' dorms. Malfoy was sitting by the fireplace and his eyebrows went up when he saw the haunted expression on the Head Girl's face.

Hermione was overwhelmed. If she didn't choose Malfoy to be with, would he live a lonely life? That was possible, considering that it had happened already with Snape. But she was Hermione Granger. The muggle-born war heroine, the Smartest Witch of the Generation, a proud Gryffindor. And _he_ was a pure-blood ex-Death-Eater, the Slytherin Prince. They were completely different. Hermione paid no attention to Draco, who was looking worriedly at her, and staggered to her room. She shut the door and lied down, head-first, on her bed.

She had no idea what she felt like. Sad? no. Happy? no. Upset? no. Sick? no. Confused? Yes. A hundred times, yes. She was aware of Severus Snape's life being a long, twisted road. It was lonely, yet he had no choice. Because the girl he loved chose another.

'But Malfoy doesn't love me!' she thought.

'That doesn't change the fact that you're his only compatible.'

'We're complete opposites!'

'Remember what Luna said.'

'What do I do, then?! Marry him?!'

'Hmmmm.'

'WHY ARE YOU CONSIDERING THAT CHOICE!'

Hermione gripped her head with her two hands and massaged it. It did absolutely nothing to calm her down.

Draco was sitting on the couch, basking in the heat of the roaring fireplace. Even though Granger wasn't his most favorite person, he had to give her credit. She had been the brains of the Golden Trio, because the other two had none. She was top of every class, and she was head girl. She showed everyone kindness and sympathy, yet she had a fiery temper to match his own.

'She's also attractive.' said the voice in his head.

He had been intrigued with her from the very beginning. She was the first girl to stand up to him. She had punched him, for Merlin's sake! Although he had convinced everyone, and even himself, that he hated her, he could not help but to be interested in her. But her as his only compatible had been taking it one step too far.

He didn't have anything against Muggle-borns now. The war with Voldemort proved that blood did not matter. He regretted joining the Dark side. Not because the Dark side had lost, but because everything that was holding the Dark side together was a lie. The claim that pure-bloods were superior to half-bloods and muggle-borns. The so called reason for muggle-borns, 'stolen magic.' Ha, very funny, Voldemort. And where had that led Voldemort and his followers? To death, or Azkaban.

He didn't deserve Granger. She was too good, too pure for him. He had accepted it, but it did little to stop his new-found desire for her. He had the charm, the looks, and the money. Most girls fell at his feet because of them. Hermione Granger was not one of them.

He felt like he could talk to her. Truly talk, as in revealing-everything-in-his-mind kind of talk. She matched his intellectual mind. Her sharp tongue matched his own. He decided that he wanted her, he needed her. He had been aware of her since first year, for Merlin's sake. He could not imagine his future with a boring partner who would never understand him. He needed passion, the fire that was Hermione Granger.

 **Kudos for everyone who read this chapter to the very end! Thanks so much for reading, and please review! Marshmallow Addict, out!**


	5. Ch 5 : Needy isn't a good look on you

**I'm back! Did you all miss me? No? Oh. Okay. Well, I missed you guys! There's a lot of talking in this chapter, so you might find it confusing. To be honest, I'm kind of nervous every time I post a chapter, because I'm worried that I'll ruin the story. But I'll try hard not to wreck it! *^^***

 **Beetle126 :** I'm so happy that you enjoyed it! Thanks for your review as always! You rock!

 **OctaviaWithStarsForEyes :** Yeah, I was really surprised and delighted to hear from you! I'm really glad to hear that you liked it :) As for Harry and Hermione, well I always imagined them as being awkward each other after the war. Some would beg to differ, I'm aware, but I find it hard to believe that Harry would not have fallen for Hermione somewhere along the way, along with Ron.

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Headmaster McGonagall lets Hermione in on the secret that led Severus Snape to his life of loneliness. Long ago, when he was in 7th year, Hogwarts did the love amulet event. Snape's only compatible was Lily, yet at the time Lily was not aware of it. Lily, was in fact love with James Potter at the time and chose him over Snape. Snape, who could not find anyone else for him since Lily died, lived alone and died alone. Hermione is overwhelmed by the fact that she could influence Draco to live the same life as the late Potions-professor, and is desperate for a solution. Meanwhile, Draco realizes that he couldn't live happily with anyone that didn't resemble Hermione._

 **Disclaimer : As much as I want to claim Harry Potter as mine, it is rightfully J.K. Rowling's. I'm just one of the hundreds of people who bend her characters to their will. (^.^)**

Chapter 5 : Needy isn't a good look on you

Hermione was adored. Generally, as in she was adored by many people. She was pleasant to be around, she listened well, she fought back, she was intelligent, she was attactive, needless to say, she possessed many qualities that many girls looked for in a friend and many qualities that a man looked for in a woman. Including Draco Malfoy. Especially Draco Malfoy.

If you were to ask all the boys in Hogwarts, first years to seventh years, a majority of the answers would be Hermione Granger. She was a war heroine, she was a brilliant student, as she was loyal to those she loved. Yet she didn't seem to have a partner at her side. She was single.

Hermione Granger, on the other hand, thought a little differently. She did not acknowledge her beauty, nor her charms. "I'm just bordering on average." she would reply with a good natured smile. She wouldn't be aware that she was telling a lie. Hermione Granger _never_ bordered on average. She was straight up brilliant, Os in everything. It was a shame she didn't recognize it.

And as Draco's train of thoughts wandered endlessly, carrying thoughts of Hermione Granger, he fell harder and harder for her. How could he have been so blind to not recognize the potential in her from the moment he laid her eyes on her? It should have been obvious.

Hermione was still clutching her head in her hands, away from the stares of the outside world, tucked safely in her room. She was currently badgering her brain for a solution to one of her many problems.

She had a lot to worry about, actually. Draco Malfoy was one of her problems. Let's see, there was the N.E. that she would have to achieve to get a nice job. Speaking of jobs, she had no idea what she wanted to do next. She didn't have a idea for what her future would be like. Alright, she had a faint idea, who didn't? She wanted to be a successful business woman, a wonderful wife to her future husband, who would live up to her high expectations, and a mother of a child or two. That was it.

She supposed she could detect the slight similarities between her compatibles. They all scored high on the looks department, she thought with a small smile. They were all intelligent. Harry was smart, he was just slow-witted sometimes. Evan, she didn't know well, but she knew him enough to percieve that he was in the top 10 in every class he took, he _was_ a Ravenclaw after all. Draco Malfoy was...cunning, no doubt about that. He was also very deceitful, and he could be subtle if he wanted to.

The part she didn't get was their personalities. They were completely different, in her opinion. Harry was sweet, but stubborn. Evan had been nothing but nice to her. Draco was...he was confusing. He used to be a git. He used to be a mean little boy. Now, he was somewhat responsible and fair. He was still a git, sometimes. She didn't know what to expect from him.

Hermione decided that she couldn't bottle all these thoughts and emotions up. She was surely explode at one point. She needed a friend to spill all of this to. She sent her owl to Gryffindor tower for Ginny, the owl carried a message, _'Ginny, I need to talk. -HG'_

In less than 10 minutes, Ginny was knocking on the head's door. The red head was overjoyed that she would get to talk, one to one, with Hermione. Ginny thought herself as extremely lucky to be so close to Hermione. Ginny knocked again, a little impatient, this time.

"Who are you?!" yelled the voice of an annoyed Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione called me! Let me in!" she screamed back. The couple on the portrait grimaced as the people between them yelled.

The portrait entrance opened, revealing an irked-looking Draco Malfoy.

"It's past the bloody curfew, you shouldn't be out." Draco glowered at Ginny.

"The head girl called for me. I have every right to be here." Ginny glared back. Hermione came bursting out of her room.

"Sorry, Dra-Malfoy. I called for her." Hermione dragged Ginny off to her room and promptly shut the door behind her. Draco stood in place for a moment, deciding whether to stick around and eavesdrop or to go into his own room. The first one was more appealing. He quietly put his ear to the voice but no noise came from inside.

"She must have put a silencing charm on her room." he muttered to himself and he walked off to his own room. 'If she can invite her friends, I can invite mine.' he thought and sent an owl to Blaise Zabini. Blaise arrived 15 minutes later with a curious expression on his face. Draco went into his own room with him and cast the silencing charm on his room.

"What?" Ginny asked Hermione. "Trouble with a certain blond?" she waggled her eyebrows, which was met with a disapproving look from Hermione.

"How much do you know?" Hermione demanded.

"You two are compatibles. That's all I know. We haven't talked much after the...you know..." Ginny trailed off. She them looked at Hermione hopefully. Hermione looked uncomfortable. Should she tell Ginny everything?

She decided to spill. "I'm his only compatible!" she burst out. She then covered her mouth with her hands, surprised with herself for telling her. Ginny raised her eyebrow.

"How do you know?" she asked suspiciously. Surely Malfoy didn't stick his amulet to every other amulet. It was impossible he could have done that in a short amount of time.

Hermione looked at her shoes weakly. "I have a list."

Ginny's eyes grew wide. "Show me! Show me! Show me! Show me!" she chanted, beckoning Hermione to pull the list out. Hermione reluctantly reached into her pocket for the list. She had found it in the common room earlier, Malfoy had probably forgot to tuck it away.

Ginny's eyes grew even wider. Her eyes were darting around the paper.

"No way." she took it from Hermione and continued to ogle it. "This is like a cheat sheet, 'Mione." Her eyes landed at the name 'Draco Malfoy.' Hermione was right. Her name was the only name beside his.

"Whoa. What do you do next?" Ginny questioned Hermione. It was clear that she was bursting with excitement. "This is so exciting! You guys are like...destiny! Meant to be! Whoa!"

Hermione smiled at the girl's innocent response. "I don't know what you mean, Gin."

"I mean, what will you do now that you are the key to Malfoy's happiness?"

Hermione knitted her eyebrows. His happiness?

"Oh come on, you can't be that stupid." At this, Hermione sniffed indignantly. Ginny rolled her eyes and continued. "You're his only compatible, which means that you are the only one who's suitable for him. Thus, you're the only one who could satisfy him."

Even though Ginny was exaggerating, there was truth behind her words. "Do you like him?" Ginny looked at the squirming Hermione for an answer.

"No!"

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"NO!"

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?!"

"Yes. Wait, no?"

"Hermione, you're not making sense." The two girls burst into giggles.

"I have no idea." Hermione admitted. Ginny's face broke into a grin.

"Did you find all your compatibles?" Ginny asked with a curious expression on her face. Hermione nodded. "Who?" Ginny questioned.

"Have you heard of Evan Brooks?" Hermione wondered, implying that he was one of her compatibles. Ginny was flabbergasted.

"Evan Brooks?! The beater and captain for Ravenclaw? That smart good-looking bloke?!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione face broke into a confused expression.

"I think so..." she trailed off uncertainly. Surely a boy couldn't be that perfect, could he? If what Ginny was saying was true, then Evan was close to being perfect.

Ginny hugged Hermione. "I'm so happy for you!" Ginny squealed.

Not knowing what else to do, Hermione hugged Ginny back.

"I can't believe how lucky you are!" Ginny exclaimed again. Hermione was getting frustrated. _She_ was lucky? Ginny was subtly implying that she wasn't good enough for them.

"Me? Lucky?" Hermione replied with a slight scowl. Ginny did not notice Hermione's pissed off expression and vigorously nodded. "I'm lucky because I am compatible to a ferret, my best friend, and somebody I barely know?!" she demanded.

Ginny got the hint and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way! I was just...very...happy for you because they're all attractive and...cool?" Ginny smiled at Hermione nervously.

Meanwhile, Draco and Blaise were having an argument.

"Then ask her out before someone else does!" Blaise exclaimed, silently marveling at his friend's ignorance.

Draco sighed loudly. Why couldn't Blaise understand this?! "She's sure to say no!"

"You don't know that!"

"I do, too! I insulted her for 6 years, Blaise! She isn't going to say yes to me willingly! She hates me!"

"Then give up!"

"What kind of friend are you?! You're suppose to cheer me up! You know I can't give up on her! I refuse to!"

Blaise massaged his temples. Draco was intelligent, but sometimes, he could prove to be incredibly thick. "So let me get this straight. You want her. But you can't have her. But you can't give up on her, and you don't want anyone else to have her either?"

Draco nodded with a big smile on his face. "Now you understand!"

"You can't do that. Someone's bound to snatch her away. Didn't you hear? Brooks fancies her. And I'm pretty sure that Potter does, too"

Draco scowled. "Beater from Ravenclaw? And Potter?!"

"They're both captains." Blaise added. Draco scowl deepened.

"So am I." Draco said indignantly, refusing to accept that they were better than him in any way. "They wants her, too?"

Blaise nodded, confirming Draco's thoughts. "Brooks is asking her to Hogsmeade, just a heads-up. And you know that the Golden Trio usually spends time in Hogsmeade together"

"Will she say yes to Brooks? Does she like Potter back? They aren't better than me, aren't they, Blaise? I'm richer than them. I'm also better at Quidditch, aren't I?" Draco asked his friend. This was the last straw for Blaise.

"I don't know! How should I know?! I know just as much about her as you do! Draco, get a hold on yourself! Needy isn't a good look on you! I don't have any idea what had gotten into you, but I'm not fond of it." Blaise exploded. Draco glared at Blaise for the sudden outburst.

Blaise stood up and announced that he was leaving. "I need to sleep, Drake, and you should, too." He walked towards the exit and went out.

Ginny decided to leave, too. Although she was willing to spend the night with Hermione, her friend insisted that she had to get her sleep. Hermione came out with Ginny, to wish her a good night. When Ginny and Blaise were in front of the portrait, they were pulled towards each other. Their amulets met.

Draco found this hilarious. He burst into laughs and Ginny looked bewildered. They both muttered the words 'Merci Venus' and ran out of the heads room, as if they were being chased by Fluffy the three-headed dog.

Hermione and Draco's amulets started to glow. Hermione paid no attention to it and went into her room to sleep. After she went in, Draco went into his own room.

They both fell asleep at around 12 o clock. Hermione, being the neat person that she was, woke up bright and early at 6 am. She took a shower and got ready. She went to eat breakfast. Draco woke up at around 7 am. He took a quick shower and pulled on his school robes. He headed down to the Great Hall.

When he arrived, he caught sight of the Ravenclaw captain with Granger. He walked by them, trying to listen in on their conversation.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" he heard the brown-haired boy say. He looked at Hermione. He mentally groaned when he saw her expression. She was about to say yes, he knew it. He had to stop this.

"She's coming with me, Brooks"

 **Thanks for reading and sorry if it confused you. It just has to happen in order for the characters to get into the situation that I want. Please don't hate me for cutting it off at this, I hate cliff-hangers as well, but it's hard to find a place where you can cut it off.**

 **Au revoir and see you in a couple of days! (I hope)**


	6. Ch 6 : Crying over Parchment

**Okay, I tried to post this chapter about 12 hours ago, but I realized that I had posted the earlier chapter again under the title of this chapter. I apologize for my mistake to everyone who had read it, and this time, I'm actually posting it :)**

 **I might have made Draco a bit OCC, I found out about it after re-reading my writing so far. I'll try not to make him so unlike himself. So don't be surprised if his behavior changes a bit, I'll make it subtle.**

 **Beetle126 :** He does. He does really like her. But I'm not going to make it easy for him. (Laughs maniacally) Thanks so much for your review, as always! (^^)

 **pgoodrichboggs :** You make me blush...Thank you!

 ** _Last time :_**

 _A very confused and distressed Hermione calls for Ginny late at night to come to the heads room to talk to her. Seeing this, Draco summons his own friend, Blaise Zabini, to talk. Hermione tells Ginny everything and Ginny helps Hermione understand the more finer points of this situation. Such as Hermione being the 'key' to Draco's happiness. Although Hermione is reluctant to admit it, she is warming up to Draco. In the other room, Blaise pushes Draco forward, telling him that if he doesn't claim her soon, she will be 'snatched' by other males. Draco is extremely annoyed with this fact. In other means, Ginny and Blaise are compatible to each other._

 **Disclaimer : MUAAAAH HAHA! HARRY POTTER IS MINE, ALONG WITH DRACO MALFOY AND HERMIONE GRANGER AND EVERYONE ELSE! I lied. Deal with it.**

Chapter 6 : Crying over Parchment

Draco Malfoy stood tall in front of the whole school, not intimidated by the hundreds of pairs of eyes on him. He was rather basking in their attention. He smirked at the outraged girl, who was practically fuming out of her ears. He loved the vibrant shade of pink that her face would turn into.

Harry stood up. He snatched Hermione by her hand and pulled her back to where she was sitting, between him and the freckled red-head.

"Sorry, Hermione always hangs out with me." Harry spat with a confident smile. Ron nudged Harry hard in the shins with an annoyed expression. "Us." Harry replaced quickly, resulting in Ron nodding with satisfaction.

Hermione was displeased with the fact that she did not have a say in how she would be spending her weekend. She was extremely bothered. She did not need, nor did she want someone else making the decisions for her. Harry and Ron should have reminded themselves of this fact, they had been her best friends through thick and thin. As for Malfoy, he had no business poking his nose in her business.

Hermione flicked her wrists so that Harry would lose his grip on it. She gathered up some of her dignity and stood to her full 5'4 height and glared at Harry and Ron.

"I don't think Hermione agreed to Hogmeade with any of you." Evan spoke, glaring at the three boys who had claimed that they had plans with her.

"We're past that, we're best friends!" Ron exclaimed, looking at Hermione, silently asking her to back him up. Hermione stared coldly at him, and ignored his pathetic attempt at trying the puppy eye trick on her.

"I'm not available this Saturday." Hermione asserted. She scanned her eyes around the whole Grand Hall, who were all curious about her reason. "I'm studying." Many people in the Grand Hall rolled their eyes. They should have realized that Hermione Granger would blow off boys to study in the library.

"Can I study with you?" Evan asked. "Assuming you'll be at the library? I have trouble in Charms, and since you're the best in the school, as well as the most kind, maybe you could go over it with me?" He smiled at her. Hermione nodded.

"Sure."

Draco was annoyed, although it was unnoticed by almost everyone due to his poker face. As if the clever Ravenclaw didn't understand Charms, it was the easiest subject! 'Sneaky git.' he thought. Hermione cut off all the eye contact from the boys and sat down in her seat.

"Pass the syrup, please." she said politely to Neville, who handed her the jug of syrup with trembling fingers. She drizzled her stack of pancakes with the sweet substance and flashed a dangerous look to everyone who was looking at her.

"What?!" she snapped, violently stuffing a piece of pancake in her mouth with brutal force. Everyone looked away, everyone, that is, everyone with the exception of Harry and Draco, who were still boring holes into her.

She glared at the two boys as if to say 'bring it' and they surrendered, and dropped their gaze. Harry sat back down in his seat, trying to avoid any contact with Hermione, while Draco went to sit at the Slytherin table, oblivious to all the looks people gave him.

"I'm truly sorry, Hermione. I just..." Harry told Hermione as he trailed off, thinking about the excuse he would give. Hermione scoffed.

"We both know that you aren't sorry, Harry. Don't bother trying to lie and make up an excuse, I'm perfectly capable of reading through your crude attempt at falsehood." she seethed.

Harry looked down at his bacon in shame. He picked at the bacon, which made Ron glare angrily at him.

"Mate, are you eating the bacon or not? Stop sulking, and if you're not going to eat it, hand it over." He reached over to Harry's plate and stole half of his bacon. Harry reached out to reclaim his bacon and soon the two boys were playing tug of war. Hermione, who was squished between these two, was chewing her lower lip, trying to control her anger. Ron let go of the bacon, causing Harry to fall over and release his bacon. Somehow, the bacon found its way to Hermione's face.

Ginny slapped Ron on the head. Ron swore angrily demanding that she revive his brain cells that had perished due to the blow to his head. Ginny repeated her earlier action which made Ron wince and pull on Ginny's hair.

"You do NOT pull my hair, Ronald Weasly! Now my hair's polluted by your grubby sausages that you call fingers! If you do it again, I'll cut off your bits!" Ginny threatened, yanking her beloved hair out of her brother's grip.

Ron looked at Harry for help. Harry sent him a look that clearly meant 'Sorry, I'm not going to help you.' Harry smirked childishly.

"And you call yourself a Gryffindor!" Ron yelled at Harry, half-chewed sausages spewing from his mouth.

"Shut up, Ron!" Hermione snapped and she wiped off the grease off her face with a napkin. She threw the napkin down on the table and gathered up her satchel furiously. With a flourish and a glare to no one in particular, she marched down the halls, stomping and huffing.

She sighed, it seemed like she spent a majority of her time stomping off, these days. And it was just the beginning of the year. She didn't know what she expected, probably a relaxing year where the only thing that was stressing her out was N.E. . After all, the war was over, the least the universe could do was give her a peaceful year, no? The universe, apparently, disagreed with her.

She continued tromping down the halls and she stopped immediately when she realized that she wasn't making a good example as Head Girl. She would find other things to take out her anger, besides the floor.

She went into the classroom, History of Magic was her first class. She pulled out her copy of 'A History of Magic' and scrolled through its margins. Although she had read the book cover-to-cover more times than she could count, it was her one of her favorite books, it never ceased to amaze her.

She felt the tension in her body evaporating as she focused on reading. After 10 minutes of exhilarating reading, she looked around the classroom, which was empty when she came in, and saw that many students had taken their seats. She closed the book and pulled out her quill and ink. She then reached into her satchel to take out some parchment. When she couldn't feel the familiar texture of paper, she opened up her satchel widely and peered into it.

She rummaged through her bag and through all her books. There was no blank parchment anywhere in her bag. She sank into her chair. There was no way that Professor Binns would lend her any paper. Harry and Ron were not in the class with her, they had dropped the subject.

She looked around the classroom again, searching for someone that she knew well enough to borrow some parchment. The only Gryffindor there was Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, and she knew very well that they didn't bring any parchment with them. There were a few Ravenclaws that she knew by face, but she wasn't close to any of them. There were two Hufflepuffs whom she didn't even know the names of. The rest were Slytherins and they would never give her parchment. There was still the petty rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

She sighed in frustration. There was no way that she could remember everything that Professor Binns lectured them on without her notes!

'I'm ruined.' she thought. 'I'm not going to remember anything from this lesson. And Professor Binns will assign us an essay and I'm not going to be able to write anything.'

Hermione buried her face in her hands. She moaned quietly mentally hitting herself for forgetting to bring parchment. Borrowing someone else's notes were not even an option. She could only work with her notes. Her neat, organized, long, precise, specific notes. What would she do during class? While she was groaning and considering her options, Draco came into class. He had spotted her right away, she always managed to capture his attention.

He looked closely at her surroundings in order to find out why she was acting like that. It was clear that it wasn't Weasly or Potter that caused her to act this way, if it was because of them, she would be stomping and huffing in that cute way of her. Draco pinched himself. _'Stop mentally complementing her!'_ It would be useless trying to figure it out for himself, he realized.

He walked over to her and tapped on her shoulder.

"Why are you sulking, Granger? It is a good idea to cover up that face of yours, though." Draco scolded himself mentally. _'Don't insult her! Be nice! You want her to like you! Don't give her a reason to hate you more!'_

 _'She doesn't hate me! She just dislikes me!'_

 _'Stop arguing with yourself! Focus on her!'_

Draco snapped back to reality and found that Hermione was glaring at her.

"Keep your nose out of my business Malfoy."

 _Ouch._ "I'm not going to ask again, Granger why are you sulking?"

"I...d-don't... h-have-

"Just spit it out!"

"I don't have any parchment!" she wailed, burying her head in her hands. This was an all new low for Hermione Granger. She had never, NEVER once in her life forgot anything for class. Books, parchment, quills, ink, you name it, she had it. Until today. She was made Head Girl for a reason! Everything was going wrong now! She didn't do a good job in her Head Girl position, Harry and Ron were acting weird, this amulet thing was so frustrating, everything was just so exhausting.

"G-Granger? Are you... _crying_?"

Was she crying? She lifted her fingers to her eyes. Yep. It was wet. Hermione Granger was officially crying. In class. The Head Girl was crying. In front of the Head Boy. In front of Malfoy. Because life was so damn hard.

Draco felt panic overtaking his body. He did not know what to do. He had never seen Hermione Granger cry before, and he didn't like it.

Draco took out some parchment from his bag and handed it to her.

Hermione looked up at him. "Why?"

"Just take it."

Hermione was relieved and thankful to Malfoy. Who knew he had a nice side?! She smiled brightly at him. "Thanks!"

Draco was surprised. Was Hermione Granger smiling at him? He had seen her smiling at her friends a lot of times, and he was always a bit envious of her friends because they had her next to them. And now, she was smiling at him. He started to get a little breathless. She was even better looking when she was smiling! Who knew?! ' _No stop thinking about her. She doesn't like you, just don't think about her.'_

"You're welcome." he tried to say nonchalantly.

Hermione then saw how much parchment he had given her. "But I couldn't accept this much! I just need a few!" She gave back almost all of the parchment he had given her, leaving herself about four. He had given her nearly 20 pieces of parchment.

Draco was sure that his face was getting red from humiliation. Malfoy's were always cool and collected. This was _not_ cool and collected, it wasn't even close. And before he knew it, he had sat down in the seat next to her. Hermione looked curiously at him.

Draco wondered if he should stand up and go sit in another seat. It was too late. Professor Binns had entered the classroom. He started talking about the life of wizards and witches in the early 1600s. Something like that. Honestly, Draco wasn't paying attention.

He looked over at Granger. She was looking up at Binns, then writing down almost every single thing he wrote. Her eyes were sparkling. He still couldn't understand how she kept up with this nonsense. The professor might as well as be singing a lullaby, his droning tone of voice was the definition of boring.

"5 points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco snapped back to reality. "Why?!" he exclaimed.

"For not paying attention."

Draco tried focus on class after that, the rest of the Slytherins were shooting him dirty looks. But he couldn't interpret what the professor was saying. He was too busy peering at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. He made sure he was not caught ogling her by anyone. And about 40 minutes later, Professor Binns dismissed the class with a "Hand in a three feet essay on how the life of magical folk changed through time next lesson."

Draco groaned and wrinkled his nose as he stood up. He looked down at his blank parchment. He hadn't taken any notes.

Hermione looked at Malfoy. He had a blank piece of parchment in front of him. He did not write down any notes. It must be difficult for him if he did not have anything to write the essay about. Hermione felt a bit guilty. He had willingly given her his parchment so she would be able to write down notes. And here he was, with no notes of his own.

"Hey Granger?" Draco spoke.

"Yes?"

"Can you help me with the essay? I didn't take any notes."

"Sure!"

"Is 8 o clock in our common room okay with you?"

"Yeah, see you then."

 **Love it? Hate it? Should I change anything? Thanks for reading! Farewell, readers!**


	7. Ch 7 : The Bloody Git is Jealous

**I'm back with a new chapter(duh)! Hehe. I want to thank 'Guest' for reviewing, I have corrected my mistake, I uploaded the original 6th chapter. *^~^***

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Hermione dismisses all three(if not four) boy's attempts at asking her to Hogsmeade. She is disgusted with how each of them fight over who will spend time with her, not asking her for her opinion. She storms off and goes to her class and discovers that she did not bring parchment with her. This is the final straw for her, everything had been exhausting, and she breaks down in tears unwillingly in front of Draco Malfoy. He lends her his own parchment and she accepts it graciously. When class starts Draco Malfoy loses points for Slytherin for not paying attention, instead staring at Hermione. As the class ended, Hermione feels guilty, seeing Draco with notes of his own, and offers to do her homework with him. He says yes._

 **Disclaimer : The fact that Harry Potter belongs to the fantastic J.K. Rowling is basic knowledge. If this is new news to you, there is something siriusly ron with you. (Giggles and runs away)**

Chapter 7 : The Bloody Git is Jealous

"What?! What do you mean you're not free this evening?!" Ron demanded, staring at Hermione for an explanation. "I need you to help me with my homework! What are you doing tonight?!"

Hermione huffed indignantly. She rolled her eyes. "Classic, Ron Weasly, classic. I have some business of mine to tend to, and I don't see how knowing it will be of any help to you. Can't we just eat lunch in peace?"

"Yeah," Ginny added, shooting Ron a dirty look, "All we do is fight nowadays, let's just eat like normal people."

Ron glowered at the two girls and snatched chicken leg from a plate and bit down on it in surrendering. Harry reached out for a sandwich and Hermione handed it to him, seeing it was on the plate right in front of her.

"Thanks, 'Mione." Harry stuffed the sandwich into his mouth and chewed thoroughly before swallowing. When the four had enough food to satisfy them, they all picked up their cups and had a drink of water.

"Now, let's share who each of our compatibles are." Harry directed. Ron groaned loudly. Hermione rolled her eyes and Ginny pinched him, with scolding words on how he was being immature.

"My compatibles are Harry, Theodore, and Blaise." Ginny revealed, resulting in horrified looks from Harry and Ron.

"Nott and Zabini?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded, confirming the fact, to Ron and Harry's horror. Harry curled his lip in disgust while Ron stuck out his tongue as if he had tasted something foul.

"Since when do you call them by their first names?" Ron spat, sending a glare towards the Slytherin table. Ginny sighed and sent Hermione a look that meant something along the lines of 'they're doing this again.'

"They haven't done anything to me to make me dislike them. I'm simply _acknowledging_ them, nothing more, nothing less." Ginny explained. Harry and Ron did not look happy with this, but they grudgingly accepted.

"Well, I'm compatible to Parkinson, Looney Lovegood, and Lavender Brown." Ron said, changing the subject. Ginny grimaced at the word 'Looney.' Ron noticed and quickly revised his words ; " _Luna_ Lovegood."

Hermione nodded, even though she already knew, she had seen their names on the list.

Harry looked around to see if anyone else was about to speak, and when he saw that they were all looking at him for his compatibles, he revealed them. "Hermione, Ginny and Parvati."

They all looked at Hermione, their eyes demanding answers. "Harry, Draco and Evan."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Since when do you call Malfoy, _Draco_?"

Ginny whacked his head. Hermione sighed, she had expected this. "We're suppose to work together, being the Head boy and girl and all, and we have agreed to be civil."

Harry frowned, but did not say anything. Ron, on the other hand, looked liked he had a lot that he would like to say. "But he's... _Malfoy._ " He wrinkled his nose distastefully. Hermione gave him an exasperated look. Hermione couldn't believe Ron still didn't grow out of the petty rivalry. Even though Draco Malfoy had went out of his way to make their lives miserable, it's not like Harry and Ron hadn't done anything about it.

"Hermione, don't you remember? He called you," Ron glared at the Slytherin table again, "That word."

"I've learned not to dwell on the past. What's done is done. What's said is said. We shouldn't hold grudges for something he did a long time ago. I won't, I refuse to. End of discussion."

The veins on Ron's face burned red. "Why? Are you warming up to him, 'Mione, because he's your compatible?" Ron accused, pointing a finger at Hermione.

"No! It's nothing like that. And even if it was, I don't see how you're affected by it." Hermione shot back, glaring daggers at Ron. Her patience was wearing out. Ginny looked agravated and she stood up, declaring she had to meet up with her friends.

"I _am_ affected by it! Do you think I like my friend being all buddy-buddy with my arch-nemesis?!" Ron shouted, fire blazing in his eyes. "Hermione, he's a _death eater_! He-"

"Not 'is', _was_ , Ronald, past tense! The war is over! Stop over-reacting!" Hermione yelled, standing up. Ron stood up as well, his face as red as his hair.

"Stop defending him, then! You're defending Draco Malfoy, of all people! The same person who called you a mudblood!" Ron ranted, his arms flailing in anger. "The same bloke who watched you get tortured in his fucking house! Don't tell me you forgave him for everything he did! You shouldn't get involved with people like him! You're so...so..."

"So what? What am I?!"

"Naive, Hermione, _fucking_ naive! You're an idiot if you believes the crap that he tells you, an idiot!" The people watching them gasped. Ron and Hermione paid no attention to them. "He's bad news! Don't you see?! He was placed in Slytherin for a reason, why do you spend time with him, when you can spend time with good people?"

"Good people?!" Hermione laughed bitterly. "Like who, you?!"

"Yes!"

"You're just as bad as him, no you're worse! Stop being so biased, Ron. I'm fine with it, Harry's learned to accept it, Ginny's okay with it! You're the only one who's acting like a spoiled brat!"

"Me?! No, it's not me, it's you! You're the one who's acting weird! I don't even know you anymore! You don't even deserve to be a Gryffindor! You're nothing to me, Hermione, nothing."

Hermione gasped as tears welled in her eyes. Ron's expression showed that he regretted what he said, but he did not apologize. The apologetic look in his face faded quickly, and was replaced by a unfamiliar expression of triumph.

Harry, as well as everyone else in the Great Hall, was stunned. The whole hall was quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the sound that the large doors made when Hermione pushed them open to fled.

Draco slammed his fork on the table and he stood up. He marched over to the red-headed boy, who still had an expression of odd joy on his face, pulled back his arm and punched him, hard in the jaw. Ron fell to the ground, the force of the punch overwhelming his balance system.

Ron looked to Harry for help, but he was met with a cold gaze. Draco kicked his stomach, and Ron rolled over in pain. He groaned in agony. Draco turned around and went past the doors, his robe flapping behind him.

"You foul git." Harry spat at the boy, who was still lying on the floor, clutching his stomach. He ran after Draco and the doors made the loud sound again as it was slammed shut. The Hall was met with complete silence again, as everyone tried to process what had exactly happened. They had never expected such drama from the three Gryffindors who had worked together to save the wizarding world. Many believed them to be perfect. The still air was broken by the ringing voice of Headmaster McGonagall.

"50 points from Gryffindor."

Draco ran after Hermione. He saw her hair disappear through the portrait leading to the Head's rooms. He yelled the password at the painted person and it let him in.

Judging by the sounds coming from her room, he assumed that she was in there. Her sobs filled the air, making Draco even more angry. He regretted hurting the Weasel only two times, he deserved far worse than that. He deserved to spend a month in the hospital wing.

Colorful language followed. Draco could not fight the small smile as it made its way upto his face as he heard a particularly foul description of the Weasel. A quiet knock came from the other side of the portrait.

"Who are you?" Draco asked.

"Potter."

Draco sighed and let him in.

"Where's 'Mione?" Harry demanded.

"You should go to Weasly." Draco said, ignoring Harry's words.

Harry looked angry. "Why?"

"Because he deserves more pain." Draco snarled.

Harry cocked his head. "You can go and hit him."

Draco exhaled loudly and messed up his hair in annoyance. "It won't mean anything, I beat him up on a regular basis. It'll mean more, being hit by your best mate, or whatever you two are."

"I understand and all, but I need to see Hermione." Harry insisted, trying to walk around Draco to approach Hermione's room.

Draco moved so he was in front of Harry, blocking the path. "No." he said stubbornly.

Harry ruffled his hair, he had an agitated look on his face. "May I ask why?"

"Well, you need to understand her, and you-" Draco was cut off by Harry.

"What, I _don't_ understand her?! You may not be aware of this, but she and I and Ron had been friends since the first year! We went through a bloody war together! We're called the Golden Trio for a reason, Malfoy," Harry ranted, "and this trio isn't going to break up anytime, I won't let it happen!"

Draco raised his eyebrows. "And what will you do? Tell her words of assurance, then convince her that Weasly's not that bad a guy?"

"I suppose, yes!"

"Well you're wrong, Weasly's a git. Don't you remember fourth year? The Yule Ball? Believe it or not, you weren't the only ones to see her sitting on the ground, crying because of something Weasly said to her. He's not good to her, he doesn't deserve to walk the same ground with her, much less be best friends with her. Don't you, Potter? He _uses_ her. You do, too, but not as much. He takes advantage of her loyalty, smarts, and kindness. Don't you see? He needs to learn a lesson, Potter. And I'm pretty sure he won't listen to me."

Harry knew that he could not change the blond head-boy's mind. It was no use, whatever he said to convince Malfoy. "Fine." Harry growled. He marched out the portrait.

Draco sat on the couch, listening for any sounds that came out of her room. The sound of sobs were small and there was the occasional _sniffle_ from her. After waiting for a few more minutes, he stood up and walked over to her door. He hesitated before knocking on it softly.

"Granger? Are you okay? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, you don't need to busy yourself with me. I already feel bad for you staying behind here, and missing your lesson. I'm really sorry, by the way. I made a mess of myself, I completely destroyed the mood and-"

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. I'm coming in." Draco said harshly. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. He saw Hermione sitting on the edge of her bed as she tried to wipe the tears off her face.

He approached her. She looked up into his eyes.

"Why'd he say that?" she asked faintly as tears sprang to her eyes once again.

Draco breathed out deeply. "He's just being the bloody git that he is."

Hermione nodded slowly. "He _is_ a bloody git." she echoed, looking down at her shoes.

Draco cracked a smile. "About time you realized."

"But why did he have to say that? And in front of all those people, too. I'm humiliated. How will I go to classes now?" Hermione scooted to her left. "You can sit, if you want."

Draco sat. "He's just jealous."

"Of who?" she asked.

"Me." he said with a smirk.

"You?" she snorted. "Why you?" Trust Malfoy to make this about him, she thought.

"Because you were taking my side." he replied breezily. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't taking sides-"

"Yes, you were, Granger."

"What are we, five? There's no your side and his side. There's only the right side and the wrong side."

"So you _do_ admit that there are sides." Draco chided. He grinned triumphantly.

"Still. I was just standing up for what I believe it. Fairness. I did nothing wrong. There is no reason that _he_ should get all heated up."

Draco did not answer immediately, which made silence reign for about six minutes. Draco spent all six minutes glancing and thinking about the girl sitting next to him. She just getting on his nerves. She was just...so excessively _nice_ , to the point of being sickening. How could she let herself be pushed around like that? No, he thought to himself, she did not do anything wrong. It's the people that push her around that did something wrong. Like Weasly.

"Are you really okay? I heard that we were learning something important in Herbology today, I don't want you to miss out on it. I'm really fine, I'll just stay here for a bit longer." she spoke in fake cheery tone.

There she did it again. The bottomless lake of kindness that was Hermione Granger.

"You're more important than grades, Granger. And you're _not_ fine, stop lying to me, you twit." Draco snapped.

"Don't call me a twit, you twit." she retorted, hoping her reply will hide the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks, caused by his sudden confession.

"You don't like him, do you?" Draco asked, he had been wondering about this for some time now, and it seemed like a good chance to ask.

"Huh? Sure I like him, he's one of my best friends!"

"No." Draco spoke. "I mean, do you like him romantically?"

"I might have liked him a long time ago, but I was never really sure. I mean, after our kiss-"

"You _kissed_ him?!" Draco sputtered.

"Well, yes. Around the time of the war. But... there was no connection. No sparks, no fluttery feelings, nothing of the sort."

"He clearly thinks differently." Draco said bitterly. Hermione looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she queried. She leaned a little closer to him, expressing that she was curious about why he said it.

"He obviously likes you. It's disgusting, actually." Honestly, Granger could be so _thick_ sometimes.

"Why would he say mean things to me, like today, then?"

"I told you, he's jealous." Draco repeated, exasperated. "Do you not understand? He's smitten with you, and you're not compatible to him. But you're compatible with his best friend, Potter, his worst enemy, me, and someone that you barely know, that Ravenclaw. It must have gotten on his nerves."

"No, he can't like me. It's not possible, it makes absolutely no sense! We're best friends! Nothing more than that! And even if he did like me, he should have realized that we weren't right for each other! I thought that the amulet proved it!" she exclaimed.

"So he doesn't fit your taste in men?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed again.

"Then explain your so called 'taste', Granger. Describe your ideal man, someone's who's right for you."

Hermione pondered on that thought. "Well..." she started. "He has to have a similar intellectual status to me. He also has to understand me, you know? He should also give me freedom, he cannot be a burden. I don't want a man who wants me as a normal housewife, like Ron wants. He has to be caring, and I don't mind a bit of possessiveness. I'm a bit possessive, myself. Oh and he has to respect my wishes."

"So in other words, the complete opposite of Weasly, except for the possessiveness part?" he questioned.

"I guess so." Hermione nodded.

"Well there you have it." Draco declared suddenly after a pause.

"Excuse me?" Hermione knitted her eyebrows, unsure of what exactly the boy was talking about.

"It's me."

 **So? How was it? I'm really for the abundance of dialogue, I hope it wasn't too confusing. Thank you for reading!**


	8. Ch 8 : Shocking and Traumatizing

**Beetle126 :** Thank you for your lovely review as always! I don't know how you manage to brighten up my day, but I love it! :)

 **FredandHermoine :** Thanks for the complement (beaming like Hermione when she gets awarded 10 points for Gryffindor)! Oh and I appreciate you pointing out my mistake, thanks so much! I corrected it!

 **aedlas** : Aw thank you! (I'm totally blushing at your complement, you're way too kind) I am happy to see that my use of commas is acceptable, I thought I was over-using it. Thanks for your fantastic reviews!

 **I'm back! Yay! So I didn't proofread this nearly as much as I oughta do, but I really wanted to get this chapter up today. I have realized that I use many words to address Minerva McGonagall, such as headmistress, headmaster, Headmaster McGonagall, Professor McGonagall, or just plain simple McGonagall. I apoligize if it was confusing, but I think you guys can figure it out, no? Thanks for your patience with my rough writing I call a story, in my defense, I try very hard. I see some fantastic writing and I'm like 'Woah. This is art.' Then when I look at my story, it's like saying 'hi' timidly. Anyway thanks for everything, I really appreciate each and every review/favorite/follow. XD**

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Ron gets angry with Hermione for taking Malfoy's side in their conversation and yells out hurtful comments about her. Hermione runs out of the Grand Hall with tears in her eyes. Draco, who saw the whole thing unravel along with the rest of the school, goes over to Ron and delivers a punch to the jaw and a kick to the stomach. Then, he goes after Hermione, Harry soon follows. When Harry tries to go in and comfort Hermione, Draco instructs him to go to Ron and teach him a lesson, and Harry obeys after some persuasion on Draco's part. Shortly after, Draco goes into Hermione's room and is annoyed by how nice and selfless she is. She insists that she is fine, but Draco knows better. They engage in a conversation about Ron, and Draco tells her that he is jealous. And as Hermione describes her ideal man, Draco realizes that her ideal man is basically the opposite of Ron Weasly. So he got to the conclusion that he is that man. Maybe there is some hope for him, after all._

 **Disclaimer : I'm just your normal crazed obsessed fan-girl. Nothing more, nothing less.**

Chapter 8 : Shocking and Traumatizing

Silence took place as Hermione took in what Draco had just said.

"Y-You? Why?" Hermione stammered. Draco smirked, happy with the fact that he had managed to fluster her. "That's n-nonsense, Malfoy."

Draco raised his eyebrows, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Oh really, Granger? I thought you said that your ideal man was Weasly's opposite. And voila. Me and Weasly are complete opposites."

"Weasly and I, Malfoy." Hermione corrected.

"Psh. Grammer. Anyway, we're opposites." Draco scoffed, the smirk still visible on his face.

"You're not that different!" she blurted out. "You're both gits!"

"Different kinds of gits, Granger. Weasly's a git to people that care about him, as well as the people that don't. I'm a part-time git to people that I'm not fond of." Draco drawled. Hermione exhaled sharply out of her nose.

Draco continued to speak. "He's ugly, I'm good-looking. He's poor, I'm rich. He's in Gryffindor, I'm in Slytherin. He's stupid and I match your intellectual status." Draco quoted Hermione's words, just to anger her a bit more. When he achieved his goal in making Hermione more pissed, he grinned happily.

"Shut your mouth." she ordered in a bossy tone.

"Trying to change the conversation, are we now? Why? Are you scared to admit that you find me incredibly appealing, Granger? Don't be, you're not the only one, you know. Quite a few girls are smitten with me." he crowed. "Who can blame them?"

Hermione's nostrils flared. "Cockiness leads you nowhere, Malfoy."

"Why?" he remarked. "It's got me this far."

"You're impossible." sneered Hermione. She swatted his arm playfully.

Draco smiled at the small gesture she had made. It gave him a nice feeling. Like they were friends. But were they friends? It seemed like too much to ask for. He wanted the girl that he tormented mercilessly as a friend. Wait, did he just admit to himself that he wanted Granger, of all people, as a friend? He cursed the amulet, blaming it for how he was feeling.

"So can we be friends?" Draco blurted out. He mentally hit himself. _She was crying about the insults her best friend threw at her just now, and you ask for her friendship? What is wrong with you?_

 _I know, I'm an idiot._

 _Glad to see you understand my point of view._

"Uh...Sure..." Hermione replied with a nervous smile. Draco smirked back, "Thanks."

 _Malfoys don't say 'thanks'! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU DIMWIT! You do realize that you put her in a very awkward position, right? At least you smirked at her. If you smiled, you would have really messed up._

"If it makes you feel better, I hit him. Twice, actually." Draco said, a hint of pride just barely detectable in his voice. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes.

"You mean you physically abused a fellow student?" questioned Hermione. Malfoy, punch Ron? Not hex, but punch, as in muggle fighting, which was strictly forbidden?

Draco had the grace to look guilty. "Well if you put it that way...yes." he clarified.

"Because of me?! Oh Merlin...I had no idea how much commotion I had caused. I'm head girl, too! This is so embarrassing..."

They both heard a small clicking noise from Hermione's window. They saw an owl flapping its wings with a letter. Draco approached the window and opened it. The owl flurried in and Draco took the letter. The winged animal flew off and Draco shut the window.

"It says," he started, "'Hermione, you and Malfoy are excused from classes today, courtesy of Headmaster McGonagall. I went to her, telling her of your situation and she told me to owl you to tell you this. Hope you're better the next time I see you. And don't hesitate to hex Malfoy if he's a bother to you, or better yet, call me and I'll do it myself. -Harry-'" Draco read in a high pitched tone, which he though resembled Potter's voice.

Hermione stiffled her giggles as she saw his irked expression as he understood what Harry had said about him. "Git." he muttered under his breath.

"So are you feeling better?" Draco asked her. Merlin, was he worried? _No Hermione, stop putting too much meaning into five words_ , she told herself firmly.

"Yes."

"What will you do now?"

"I'm thinking I should write my essay for Binns." she replied as she stood up and walked over to where she threw her bag. She leaned down and picked it up, giving Draco a fantastic view of her legs for a second. His eyebrows rose as he admired here long, tan legs. Hermione, oblivious to what she had just did, pulled out her notes and a stack of parchment.

"Do you want to do it with me? You didn't take notes, right?" she inquired.

"Sure." He exited her room to get his own parchment, quill, and ink. When he fetched them from his desk, his bad was still in the Slytherin table, he realized. He did not bring his satchel, overwhelmed by Weasly that he lost the ability to think carefully. He went outside to the common room, where he found her, all ready, sitting on the couch.

They spent the next few hours doing their homework together and chatting. When Hermione had done all her homework that she had been assigned, including her essay which she proofread 3 times, it was past 4 pm.

Her eyes widened when she glanced down at her watch. "Did you know it's 4:21, Malfoy?" she asked. Draco shook his head. "Aren't you a bit hungry? I am."

"I guess." he replied.

Hermione quickly summoned an elf who she had befriended, Liddy. She asked the elf if it could bring some snacks, in a pleasant tone of voice. The elf nodded and with a snap of its fingers, it disapparated.

Draco looked stunned. "How?" Hermione smiled and told him that a magician never tells his secrets. Draco asked what a _magician_ was. Hermione dismissed his question with a simple 'Muggle saying.'

When the elf popped back with 3 plates all stacked with delicious goodness, such as cake, pie, fruit, and a few cups full of juice, Hermione thanked Liddy with a smile. Liddy grinned toothily back and disapparated once again.

They both dug in, the studying they did seemed to make the food that had filled their stomachs disappear. Hermione started a conversation about her own life. He seemed interested and Hermione told him of her family.

"So muggles don't use broomsticks to fly? They use it as a cleaning tool?!" he exclaimed. She nodded. _Wait,_ she thought _, why am I telling Malfoy about my private life?_ She finished her sentence and asked him about his own life, feeling exposed and vulnerable for revealing her life outside of school to someone who she had barely started to tolerate.

In the middle of their friendly chat, there was a loud knocking, no, _banging_ on the door. It rang into the common room, the floor quivering a bit. Hermione looked alarmed. Draco looked curious.

"This is completely unacceptable, Mr. Malfoy!" yelled a shrill voice, from the corridors.

"I don't care! They have a right to know!" More knocking followed.

Draco stood up and covered his face with his hands. He let out a sigh. Hermione was frozen in place. If she had heard correctly, the female voice outside said 'Mr. Malfoy' and it was clear that she wasn't talking to Draco.

"Is that your-"

"Yes, it's my father." Draco confirmed. "Let's see what he wants."

"Me, too? I-I don't think he'll be happy to see me, you know with the..." she squeaked. Draco rolled his eyes at her obvious nervousness.

"He's not thick enough to hurt a student on school grounds, Granger. And even if I'm wrong, I won't let him." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from her nice, comfy spot on the couch, "Let's go."

Hermione tried to squirm out of his grip. "I think it's family business, Malfoy. It won't be right for me to intrude." she insisted, trying to sit back down on her sofa.

Draco turned away from the door and looked at her right in her eyes. "Didn't you hear? He said, ' _They_ have a right to know.'"

He did have a rather good point. There was more banging along with 'Open this damn door!' and 'Let me in, Draco!'s mixed with a few 'Mr. Malfoy, you're being completely unreasonable's.

Hermione reluctantly let herself be dragged to the exit by Draco, but she didn't do it without glaring at him. If he noticed, he didn't show it.

Draco opened the portrait door and they were face to face with Lucius Malfoy and Headmaster McGonagall.

"Good evening." Lucius drawled to Draco, it was clear that Draco got his tone of voice from his father. McGonagall looked furious and she looked like she wanted to say something, but the older Malfoy didn't let her.

"Pleasure to see you, Miss Granger." he said to Hermione, and he took her limp hands in his. He brought it to his lips, and Hermione felt goose-bumps rising on her body, and not the good kind. She pulled her arm away and brought it firmly down next to her body.

Draco looked amazed at his father's choice of action, was his eyes decieveing him when he had seem his father kissing the hand of Granger, Muggle-born and war-hero? Professor McGonagall looked even angrier than she already was, Hermione seemed to be fighting the urge to wipe her hand on her robes.

"Mister Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall said at last, "I repeat, you cannot just come to Hogwarts demanding to see students!" She proceeded to talk in a scolding tone. "Especially in the middle of the school day!"

"I can, and I did." He said smugly. Hermione resisted the impulse to roll her eyes and say something meaning something like 'like father, like son' or 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' as she was reminded how alike Draco and his father's habit of speaking was. Lucius Malfoy turned his attention on the two head students. "How wonderful you two are here. I was hoping I could see you as soon as possible."

Draco looked suspicious. "Might I ask why you wanted to see Granger and me?"

"I found out the love amulet event. I am here to tell you two more information about it, seeing that the Ministry and the Board of Education clearly did a awful job of explaining it." His remark was met by a glare from Headmaster McGonagall.

"Please restrain yourself from glaring at me. You know how important this is!" he told the angry Headmaster. "Learn from your past mistakes. Remember Severus and Potter and that Mud-Muggleborn Rose, or Daisy or something?" Hermione flinched at the older Malfoy's almost-slip. Draco noticed and he shot his father an angry look, which he chose to conveniently ignore.

"Fine." McGonagall fumed and she stood there in place, tapping the tip of her shoe impatiently.

"Er..." Hermione started, "Do come in." Lucius Malfoy nodded as Draco moved to make way for his father and the Headmaster. The four took seats on the sofa in the common room.

Hermione was uncomfortable. The last time she had seen Lucius Malfoy was when she had read the newspaper segment about his release from Azkaban. That triggered up some unhappy memories. Like her 'talk' with Bellatrix Lestrange. Where she was not only talked to, but threatened. The location of where that had happened was in Malfoy Manor.

"I know that you are my son's only compatible, Miss Granger." Lucius told Hermione. She acknowledged his words with a stiff nod. Draco looked mildly embarrassed. Lucius had a slight frown on his face. Hermione felt the anger starting to surge in her veins. She hadn't requested Malfoy as her compatible, she was only starting to bear his company. It wasn't her fault that Malfoy was so un-compatible that he only had her as a compatible. But the fact that he was one of her compatibles scared her. She would never admit to that piece of truth, though.

The older Malfoy continued to speak. "I shall tell you a few truths about this particular amulet. This amulet is a tricky piece of jewelry. It glows brighter according to the two persons' compatibility, which could change. I also know a handy piece of information about Miss Granger's compatibles. They are my son, Potter, and that Evan Brooks, no?" Hermione nodded. "You are most compatible with Brooks, 97.4%. With my son, you are 95% compatible, with Potter, 94.6%." Hermione let her face rearrange itself to make a shocked expression, which consisted of her mouth opening a bit and her eyes widening. Draco's face darkened. So he wasn't her highest compatible. Still, 95% was high.

Hermione had an unreadable expression on her face. While she was annoyed with the older Malfoy for visiting without a warning, she could not help but be intrigued by his, seeming, large knowledge about the particular amulet which took a big part of her 'thinking list.'

"Do people usually have high percentage of compatibility with their compatibles? Is 97% considered high?" she asked finally. She would have liked to ask him how he had gotten access to these information, did the Ministry usually hand out the private information to anyone who could offer money?

Draco looked at his father eagerly for the answer to Granger's question, but it was not him who answered, but the headmistress.

"Yes, it is considered extremely high. The average percentage is in the 70%, but it seems that you, Miss Granger, have an agreeable personality. Your three compatibles are the ones who scored the highest as your compatible, you possess all three's highest compatibility. For example, while you have 94.6% compatibility with Mr. Potter, like Mr. Malfoy has said, you are his most compatible person, Miss Weasly and Mr. Potter's compatibility is 73%." McGonagall explained.

"You are actually the most compatible person for many males of the grade 6 and 7's population." Lucius recalled. Hermione looked astonished. She always thought of herself as a stubborn bookworm, but a stubborn bookworm wouldn't score so high on a compatibility determining test. Maybe she had a low self-esteem. But that couldn't be the answer, she prided herself very high on many things, such as Transfiguration and History of Magic, basically every subject that she took. Hm. This was something new to think about.

"Oh really?" she let out, after thinking for about 30 seconds.

"About 30 boys." Lucius told. Draco felt an odd feeling that was recognized as 'pride' burst inside of himself. He was one of Granger's compatible, Granger, who scored highest on many males' compatibility list. Trust Granger to score high on anything resembling a test.

"My son, on the other hand," Lucius began. Draco groaned. "while he is 95% compatible with you, Miss Granger, he did not score high with any other girls. The 2nd on his list of compatibles is the Lovegood girl, with 14% But she had others who scored higher with her." Draco looked traumatized.

"That's, errr, interesting." Hermione mused.

"Looney Lovegood?!" he exclaimed. Draco immediately regained his calm composure, he could not afford to lose it in front of Granger, his father, and the headmistress. "Anyway, I know that you did not come all the way to Hogwarts to tell Granger and me about this."

Hermione opened her mouth to correct Draco on the same mistake she had pointed out earlier. "Granger and I". Lucius looked amused with Draco's clearly irked face, but was mildly shocked when he did not comment anything insulting on her behalf. So his son let this girl correct him. This was something new.

"Of course, nothing gets past you, son." The older Malfoy sneered at his son. "I am here to talk to you two about your relationship."

 **Soooo? (Smiles widely) How was it? Good? Horrible? Fantastic? Crummy? I appreciate you guys reading, as always!**


	9. Ch 9 : Crashing Down

**Beetle126 :** Well I do try to stop this from becoming boring, you are awesome for noticing!

 **Crazyfangirl065032 :** Aww thanks! You get a cookie! (::)

 **tinymiko :** Thank you! I really appreciate your review!

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Draco cheers Hermione up, 'unintentionally' he tells himself. They study together and later, when they are done with their work, Hermione asks a house-elf to bring them some snacks. They eat the food and start chatting like old friends, which stuns Hermione. And they are soon intruded by Lucius Malfoy and Headmaster McGonagall. They inform the two head students of information about the love amulet, most of the information is supplied by the older Malfoy. They find out that the most compatible person with Hermione is Evan Brooks, followed by Draco, followed by Harry. They also find out that the three boys aren't the only ones who Hermione's person complements, there are others. Turns out, Hermione is more agreeable than everyone thought. Draco is suspicious, though, he knows that his father has another reason for his sudden, unexpected visit. Lucius tells the Hermione and Draco that he wants to talk about their relationship._

 **Disclaimer : If I owned Harry Potter, I would pair up Hermione and Draco and make sure that Astoria Greengrass doesn't exist, or is thrown off a cliff. :^) I don't like her. Thought I should clear that up.**

Chapter 9 : Crashing Down

"Father!"

Lucius did not wither under Draco's furious gaze, like most people would have done. "Yes, son?" he replied calmly.

"Stop getting involved in my love life!" Draco yelled angrily. Lucius scoffed.

"What love life?" Lucius sneered at Draco. Hermione felt herself shaking as she tried to stifle her laughter, who knew Lucius Malfoy was rude to even his son?

Draco was angry. And humiliated. He was doing fine until his father decided to waltz in here and tell them that Brooks was better matched with Hermione then Draco. Then start a conversation about Draco's 'non-existant' love life. Honestly, was this man even his father?

"What exactly do you want to talk about?" Hermione asked politely, when she got over her giggle.

"I will repeat myself only once, Miss Granger. I am here to talk about you two. I assume you are single?" he asked. Hermione's cheeks turned a slight pink. She shook her head up and down, indicating that she was, indeed, single.

"My wife had wanted to meet you for some time. Can you please do me a favor and have tea with her and Draco in Hogsmeade?" Lucius asked. Draco grimaced, Hermione would surely refuse, she planned to study in the library. To his dismay, she accepted.

"Of course." she concurred as she plastered a fake smile on her face. She could not believe that she accepted, she had studying to do! Hermione Granger was not all that fond of Hogsmeade, but when Mr. Malfoy said it like that, she could not refuse. He was sneaky and cunning, much like the younger Malfoy.

"Perfect. I will owl Draco the time and place. I am most relieved that you are on civil terms with Draco. Draco, I assume you have the ring?" The expression of Lucius Malfoy's face didn't change, as if he was talking about the weather.

Draco turned red. He muttered a 'yes'. Professor McGonagall looked more curious than angry.

"What ring?" she questioned. Lucius opened his mouth to answer her question, but Draco burst out of his seat and put his hands over his father's mouth.

Draco growled. "Don't say anything." Lucius pulled Draco's hands off of his mouth. He glared at his son. Professor McGonagall looked as if Draco's actions had given her the answer. Draco mentally groaned.

"Alright, alright. Draco, I'll be checking in on your progress." And with a flourish of his robes, he exited the head's dorms and disappeared out of their sight.

Professor McGonagall stood up as well. "I shall go, too. Sorry for our intrusion." Hermione muttered something like 'No, no it's all right'. The headmaster went out the portrait, leaving a very embarrassed Draco and a flustered Hermione together.

Hermione tried to fight off the urge to ask him questions. Her curiosity won, however. "What ring?" she asked him, echoing the professor's words.

"Why do you want to know?" he demanded. Hermione looked shocked at his sudden outburst.

She huffed, realizing she had done nothing wrong to feel guilty. "Because your father brought it up while talking about us, so I'm guessing that it has something to do with me. I'm curious. Deal with it." she shot back indignantly.

"It's a family heirloom. He sent it to me by owl a few days ago." He responded with a shrug.

"Why do you need to have it? What kind of ring is it?" she inquired. Draco looked annoyed at her further questioning. She was sure he was refuse to answer it, but he did.

"An engagement ring." he replied. He immediately regretted telling her that. It was bound to make them uncomfortable. "He wants me to settle down quickly." he explained. Why'd he tell her that? Hermione Granger was far from being an idiot, she could figure out what Lucius Malfoy had been hinting at. After all, he wasn't exactly striving to be subtle about it.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped. "I-I understand. I'm sorry for poking my nose in your business, I was inquisitive." She rushed to her room and shut the door.

Engagement ring?! Why did he say that?! Draco shut his eyes tightly, as if doing that would make him, or her, forget about what he had said. It did no such thing, obviously.

Draco was aware that his father wanted him to get married, settle down, and uh, 'make' an heir. And he has hinted about the girls he preferred. Such as Astoria Greengrass, the fat ugly girl, who had an awful temper and a horrid personality. Lucius wanted him to get engaged to her, he told him of his plans when he was in 5th year.

Draco refused. He did not want to marry a horrid girl because of her family name and her wealth. Even though he had never admitted it before, he wanted to marry for love. After all, who didn't? He wanted a nice, pretty girl, who matched his intelligence. But there was no pureblood girl like that, no girl met both his and his picky father's requirements. The girl who bore the most resemblance in his ideal, was Hermione Granger. And here was his father, pushing him to her.

Draco knew that his father wanted him to revive the respect the Malfoy's once possessed. His father, how insincere he may be, was cunning. Lucius Malfoy knew that Hermione Granger was the brains of the 'golden trio' and a certified war hero, as well as the smartest witch of their generation. The only fault he found in her was her heritage. She was a muggle-born. However, he was willing to overlook that small detail. She seemed okay enough, and his son seemed interested in her. The idea of 'pure-blood' didn't interest Lucius Malfoy as much as it used to, though he would still prefer the Malfoy family being pureblood.

The wavering of his dedication to blood putity might have started when the Malfoy family found out that Voldemort, who the Malfoy family practically worshipped, was a half-blood. Or when he found that his son kept getting bested my the earlier-mentioned muggle-born witch.

Draco's father was not heartless. He wanted the best for his family. Lucius Malfoy knew that he had been lucky to have found love in his marriage to Narcissa, which had been arranged by their parents. Many arranged marriages were love-less. Lucius did not want to trap Draco in such a situation. But, like earlier mentioned, he would rather prefer that his only son and heir would marry a pureblood, in hopes of keeping up what the family name had required. Pure blood.

Unfortunately, Draco was a stubborn fool, he would not listen. He did not take a fancy to any of the pureblood girls. He refused to be in a actual relationship who didn't meet his requirements. He was too picky. And it would come back to bite him in the arse one day, Lucius was sure of it.

Now that he thought about it, Hermione Granger would be the perfect match for Draco, if she was a pureblood. Many people claimed that she was the 'smartest witch of the generation.' As well as the most kind. Lucius had to admit, if Draco was attracted to muggle-borns, he could have done much worse. No, this was not a suitable time for these thoughts. It was not like Draco wanted to marry this girl, no? He would think about this later.

Going back to Draco, he was not sure of what he felt towards the girl. He felt attraction, there were few wizards who didn't. She had changed after the war. She possessed even more potential than she used to. And she had grown into her looks. Her hair had changed, it no longer resembled a bushy mop, it was in sleek curls that framed her head perfectly. It had lighten up a few shades, she _did_ like reading in the sun. She was on the skinny side, but that earned her even more looks from the male population. She had nice curves and legs to die for. But that was just from a normal male point of view. He knew her real person. She was the classic girl next door, kind and shy. Of course, she had a temper and a stubborn side, not strong enough to make her unpleasant. It was, dare he say it, kind of endearing.

While Draco was daydreaming about Hermione, analyzing every part of her that he could remember from his memory, she was thinking similar things about him.

Draco Malfoy was good looking. There was nothing she could deny about it. He was lean and tall. While he was a little bit wiry, he had developed slight muscles, probably from Quidditch and the whole 'fight for your life' business. His shiny hair was admired by the females of Hogwarts. Despite his good looks, his personality was...confusing. The Draco Malfoy that she knew before the war, was an arrogant twat. He had a massive head, and he was aware of his good-looks. He was a jerk. That did not bother her in her earlier years. He was nothing but a douchebag, nothing to question about it. Unfortunately, he had changed. She had seen other sides of Draco Malfoy, his playful side, his embarrassed side, his apologetic side. Sides that she had not expected from it. It was perplexing. She could not hate him with the passion that she had earlier. She realized that she did not know him well, and now that she was starting to, it scared her.

The fact that she was his only compatible, along with a visit from his father, and the comment about the 'ring' did not help. She decided she should avoid him from the time being. It was exactly what she did. She did not cast a single glance towards his way. It was hard, he loved the attention and he had a lot of it. He was also in many of her classes. She swapped her seat, which was next to his, with Lavender Brown, who squealed in joy at the offer, in Potions. She chose to study in the quiet sections of the library, or her private room. She woke up early to get out of the dorm before he did, to ruin any chances of bumping into him in the morning. She took her showers when he was busy. And when she missed his company, she went to Evan, who was happy to spend time with her.

She was a coward. She knew. She was pathetic, she had faced dark wizards and had come face-to-face with death countless times, she had been threatened by Bellatrix Lestrange, but did not give in. And here she was now, avoiding a boy because she was frightened. A boy, who had started to open up to her. A boy who she found incredibly attractive. She was disgusted with herself. She kept up the charade for about a week. About 8 days since she had even exchanged a word, a look with him. Eight days, since that talk with his father.

Draco felt himself feeling very bad, upset during that week. He had grown to like her company, she was witty, smart, and funny. Not a lot of girls possessed her characteristic. He wanted to go up to her and tell her off for avoiding him. He wanted to strangle Brooks on countless occassion, mainly when he was spending time with Hermione. Hermione seemed to be getting closer to that boy, and Draco didn't like it.

As far as he could see it, she was his compatible. His only compatible. It set him different from Potter and Brooks. Shame she couldn't see it from his point of view. The feeling he got when his father told him that Brooks possessed more compatibility with her, there was no way to describe it. It was the harsh truth.

She was the best for him, but he wasn't the best for her. She was his only choice, but she could take her pick out of almost every boy in Hogwarts, not only her compatibles. Even his father had admitted it. She was a compatible person in general. And Draco could not pretend that he hadn't seen the way that many boys eyed her. The lust and longing in their eyes, he hated it. Unfortunately, he did the same thing with her. He spent a majority of his time staring at her, when she wasn't looking of course.

There was no other way to describe it. It was uncomfortable and scary and all new for him. He was not used to caring about others like this. It was, like earlier said, all new territory for him. He was used to sticking to the way that he had been doing. Treating muggle-borns like scum because he was taught to do that. It was extremely hard to do that when the walls that you have believed in were crashing down.

The blood purity nonsense, it had lost him a long time ago. Hating Hermione Granger, it was never real. It wasn't no matter how hard he had tried to convince him, as well as other people. He was intrigued by her, interested, curious, jealous, even. There was no place for hate. When the dark side collapsed, with their 'beloved' Voldemort to just die, the light side had automatically won. He was relieved. He hated Voldemort like he had pretended to hate Hermione, but that time, it was real.

Now that his walls of belief were crumpled, he was exposed. So he tried to rebuild them, it did not work. There was no glue to hold them together. He knew it was false, and he couldn't persuade himself that it wasn't.

She might not have welcomed him with open arms and he did not blame, but she had let herself get close to him. She did not hold a big grudge. She was civil.. She herself admitted that she thought of them as friends. It should have been enough for Draco, he knew he didn't even deserve it. But he wanted more. He wanted to call her his. Call him an idiot, call him ungrateful, call him selfish, but he truly wanted more. He desperately wanted to do something about it. He really did. He couldn't though. His ego wouldn't let him make the first move.

Hermione decided, too, that she couldn't run away from him anymore. They were head students, they were compatibles, she couldn't ignore how her amulet would light up anymore. She would have to make the first move. She had come to this conclusion when she talked to Evan in the library earlier that day.

 _"Hermione, I cannot say that I understand fully, due to my limited knowledge of your relationship with him. But I recommend making the first move, I have heard that he has quite a big ego. And I know you would feel bad if you hurt someone, even unintentionally. Like people say, the overconfident ones are the most insecure ones. " Evan had said, his hand resting on her shoulder in a assuring way._

 _"I suppose. Thanks for helping me with my problems, Evan. I feel so sorry for dumping this on you when we've barely met. But I just needed a friend to talk to, he's been confusing me lately." Hermione smiled at him thankfully._

 _"I actually think that the reason he's confusing you is because he's confused himself. He probably finds you attractive, but is too much of a egoistical prat to admit it."_

 _Hermione looked shocked at his assumption. "No, he can't find me attractive, it's not possible."_

 _"Why not? I find you attractive, as well as the other boys at Hogwarts. You're pretty fantastic, Hermione."_

 _Hermione reddened. "Uh...Thanks."_

 _Evan smirked at her. "If you're so thankful, can you tell me what you got for problem 7 in the history of magic homework?"_

 _Hermione rolled her eyes, but she could not fight the smile that made its way up to her face. "Fine. I assumed that she answer would be 'c'." Evan smiled. He told her that it was what he got, too._

That evening, Hermione was in her room. She had heard him arrive and if her hearing wasn't failing, Draco was in the common room.

She was right. He was in the common room. He was currently arguing with himself, whether to knock on her door or not. He was still doing that when he came out.

"Hey." she said simply. "I'm sorry for avoiding you."

"No, it's alright."

"Do you find me attractive?"

Draco choked on nothing. He seemed to be choking on air. "W-what?"

 **How was it? Good? Bad? I can't really know, unless you tell me.**


	10. Ch 10 : Options for the Dance

**Hellllllllooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Hi. I'm here with a new chapter, but I can't really say that this might live up to your expectations. I suspect it's not that high to begin with :( Due to my not being a fantastic writer. But I do work hard on my writing, however i cannot help but feel that this chapter is...well...I worked hard on it, _I really did_. It's just...it doesn't really satisfy me. I'm really sorry is this is disappointing, but in my defense I've been lacking inspiration lately. T.T I know this might sound like a common excuse, but I'm sirius. Okay, that might have killed the mood, sorry for my corny joke, I love doing that, though.**

 **Beetle126 :** I can always count on you to brighten up my day! :) Thank you so much(again)

 **Aimdemort Riddle :** Awwww thank you! Although I feel that you are exaggerating just a teensy bit, I will ignore that and continue to wiggle in joy! ;)

 **Guest :** I'm glad you think that, thanks for telling me! (^.^)

 ** _Last time :_**

 _Hermione agrees to have tea with Narcissa. Lucius is happy with this and promises to owl Draco and her the date in the near future. Intentionally, the older Malfoy brings up 'the ring' in a casual way, which makes Professor McGonagall and Hermione curious about it. Draco tells Hermione later that what his father was talking about was an engagement ring. Hermione is embarrassed with this and cannot help but doubt that things are going too fast. After all, this was the same boy that had taunted and made her miserable in her earlier years. She chooses to avoid him, which lasts for about a week. In that week, Hermione gets friendlier with Evan and starts to develop some feelings for the sweet, smart boy. While she was doing that, Draco realizes that he has feelings for her, but does not know how do anything about it, since he had never done this before. The chapter ends with Hermione asking Draco if he thought she was attractive_

 **Disclaimer : Harry Potter? Mine? Ha! As if.**

Chapter 10 : Options for the Dance

Hermione sighed. "Okay, I shouldn't have asked that anyway. It was a stupid question. Evan just told me about his theory."

"NO!" he burst out, before he could stop himself. "I wasn't denying it." He was heating up. So was she. "I find you...okay looking." _Okay looking?! Why'd you say that?! If you're going to compliment her, do it properly!_ Draco remembered what his father had told him, days before, when he and Granger were still avoiding each other. _"Don't you understand? The more you get involved with her, the better image you get! Try to flatter the girl, make yourself more appealing, just get her attention before someone else does!"_

"Did you get the message? Professor McGonagall said she had to discuss something with us, so she'll visit us at about 8." she brought up, hasty to change the conversation.

Draco recalled the owl he'd gotten from the professor that morning. "Yeah. It's almost 8."

As if it was on cue, there was a knock on the portrait door. Hermione rushed over to open it.

"Good evening, Professor." Hermione welcomed. Draco said 'hello.'

"Do you remember the Yule Ball from 4th year?" the headmaster asked, getting to business straight away. She sat down on a seat on the couch. She summoned some teacups and a pot of tea from thin air. She flicked her wand, almost carelessly, and the pot poured the tea in the teacups. "Tea?"

Both students nodded and they plucked the teacups from the air and sipped.

"The ministry thought that the love amulet idea wasn't bringing the students closer. So they want Hogwarts to throw a ball for the 6th and 7th years."

Draco groaned. Hermione had a grim expression on her face, fully interpreting why Draco was groaning.

"I would like it if the head students planned this event, along with the help of prefects and fellow students if they wish." Headmaster McGonagall continued. What she had said wasn't a suggestion, it was clear she had her mind set on them planning this. It was a demand that should not be refused.

Hermione, who didn't want to let the professor down, nodded, mustering up as much enthusiasm as she could. "Of course we will! I'd be honored."

Draco frowned. "Speak for yourself, Granger. I don't want to do this." Professor McGonagall gave him a stern look, but Draco wasn't intimidated. Hermione nudged Draco slightly.

"I will reward points and extra credit points that shall be added to your N.E.W.T scores."

Hermione's eyes widened. Draco looked unwilling, but he agreed. "Fine."

McGonagall conjured up a piece of paper. "This paper will tell you what you need to know, from the budget to the time. You must announce the event, and the date, tomorrow morning at breakfast." She gave Hermione the parchment, which made Draco frown slightly.

"Good night." the Professor said and she walked out of their dorm. Hermione quickly scanned the writing on the parchment, Draco leaning closer to her in order to see it, too. Her eyes stopped at a certain point.

 _One is required to bring one of their compatibles as their date to participate in this event._

Hermione froze when she read that. When Draco got to that part, he rolled his eyes.

"I'm telling you, they're in it for us."

Hermione propped her elbows on the table in front of her and leaned over to make sure her hands could support her head. She gently stroked her chin with her fingers, the classic pose she took when she had an idea, or was thinking hard.

"Well, Professor McGonagall said we had to plan the dance-" Hermione started.

"Oh, I had no idea." Draco snapped sarcastically. Hermione sent a glare in his direction, which clearly suggested 'shut up.' Draco rolled his eyes again and made a gesture with his hands that meant 'go on.'

Hermione, seeing it was safe to continue, continued. "But she didn't say we necessarily had to go to the ball."

Draco looked offended. "You would rather spend your time studying in the library, than to go with me to the ball?"

Hermione sighed, agitated. "Who said you were my only choice for the dance? There are other solutions to this problem, you know."

Draco rolled his eyes. "And what might those be? Hm?"

"One of my other compatibles could take me to the dance." Hermione suggested. Draco frowned and knitted his eyebrows together. Hermione kept talking, "And you could stay and not go."

Draco vetoed that option quickly. "You can't do that!"

"Well what do you want me to do?!" exclaimed Hermione, tugging on one of her locks in frustration.

"I don't know!" Draco snapped, angry at the fact that Hermione had more choices than him.

"I know you're not happy with arrangement-"

"Isn't it obvious?" Draco interrupted, Hermione shot him down with another glare.

"And trust me, this has made my year complicated, too, but we have to work together!" Hermione said, her volume higher this time.

"Why?" Draco asked.

Hermione had expected that question, but she didn't imagine he would say it in that curious, innocent tone, that implied she would have to answer it truthfully.

"Because...we're suppose to! We're heads, for Merlin's sake! If you don't improve your 'I'm better than everyone else' attitude, we won't be able to do _anything_!" Hermione finished. A wave of anger washed over Draco. She had no right to insult him like that!

Draco bit his lip, his front teeth penetrating the surface of the skin. "I don't care! And stop with your insulting, you don't know anything about me!" he shouted, rising and marching to his room. He shut the door loudly. Hermione could hear him raging inside, stomping on the ground and taking out his frustration at no one in particular.

Hermione sighed, unsure of what she should do. What she wanted to do, was go into the bathroom and take a nice, warm soak in the gigantic bathtubs with scented candles that set a pleasant aroma in the air. However, it was too late for a bath, she had homework to do, and the fact that she already washed didn't support this desire. What she could do, was go on about her business, ignoring everything that had just happened with him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to focus well. She looked at the clock, fantastic ; it was already 9. She accomplished nothing in the last hour. _'Pat on the back for you, Hermione_.' she thought sarcastically as she mentally scolded herself for wasting precious time.

Draco was in his room, raging, as Hermione had figured. He was currently suffocating his pillow with his arms, but the soft, fluffy blob had just sagged. He threw the pillow at his closet door with as much force as he could muster. Needless to say, the pillow did not make the loud noise that Draco was hoping for.

What had he been expecting anyway? Why was he so disappointed? And how could she be so idiotic to suggest the idea that he stay, lonely, while she was accompanied to the dance by Potter, or the loathsome Brooks? Wasn't it common decency to not talk about other males while one male is in front of you? Then again, maybe he didn't even deserve that. Thinking about this topic made his self-esteem diminish, and a Malfoy with a damaged pride had no right being a Malfoy, like his father had reminded him so many times. _'Chin high, perfect posture, that's what Malfoy's do.'_

Draco decided to go the Slytherin dorms, hoping his friends could cheer him up. Well, they could cheer him up _and_ nurse his bruised ego. He opened the door and went out into the common room. The fireplace was still burning, fuming warmth, but _she_ wasn't out there anymore. _What did you think?_ , he thought bitterly, _that she would be waiting out here with an apology?_ He swung open the portrait exit with more force than necessary and he walked out into the corridors, closing the portrait entrance carelessly. He was allowed to go out into the hallways, actually, 'allowed' wasn't a suitable word. He wasn't _allowed_ to, but he could use his being the head boy as an excuse, it was one of the privileges of being Head Boy.

He found his way to the dungeons, a faint memory of the Slytherin password that Blaise had informed him about made its way to his head.. Was it Serpent? He tried it, and the portrait parted to make way. He crawled in the hole then jumped out. His friends, Nott, Blaise, and Goyle, were thankfully in the common roon, talking among themselves, comfortably sprawled on the large sofa.

They all welcomed him, and they shuffled to make room for him on the sofa. Draco sat down and he was met with curious gazes.

"Well?" Blaise demanded. Draco cocked an eyebrow, indicating that he had no idea what he was talking about.

"What's the deal with you and Granger?" Nott asked.

"Nothing." Draco drawled. Goyle raised his eyebrows, Blaise mouthed 'denial' to him, his attempt at explaining Draco's situation. Goyle made an 'o' with his mouth, and nodded. Draco slapped Blaise on the head. "I have eyes, you know."

"She's alright, isn't she?" Goyle questioned, recalling the time she had helped him in Potions.

Draco scrunched his nose, faking more disgust than he actually felt. "What do you mean 'alright'?" he demanded wondering what the 'Smartest witch of the Generation' had done to make Goyle say this.

Goyle shrugged. "She saved our lives-"

"Don't bring that up." Draco said sharply. It was an event that he would rather not experience again. And to be fair, they owed him, Draco had saved Potter's life, too.

Goyl continued as if Draco had not even interrupted, "-and she's not that particularly that nasty to us anymore, since the war ended. She helped me once with Potions. She's not that bad."

"She's hot." Blaise said, resulting in a frown from Draco. "What?" the Italian boy said defensively, "She certainly filled out. Her robes aren't so baggy anymore."

Theodore seemed to be thinking. "Like Goyle said, she's not that bad, actually. She's somewhat attractive. Her hair's not that bad anymore." Theodore used the truth as an example, not just his opinion, which made it difficult for Draco to argue with. Her hair _had_ lost its poof and it was long and wavy.

"Why are we discussing Granger like obsessed school girls?" Draco demanded, uncomfortable with the fact that even his mates had thought of Granger in that way.

"Long legs." Gregory added, ignoring Draco again.

"Small waist." Blaise said. "Cleavage. 8 out of 10. They're nice." Draco closed his eyes in disgust, trying to get picture of Granger out of his mind.

"EW!" Draco shouted. Nott frowned.

"Shout again. I don't think the Gryffindor heard you, mate"

"Fiesty, too." Blaise included, on second thought.

Draco glared at all his friends. "She's a Gryffindor!"

Blaise raised his eyebrows, finally giving Draco's words attention. "Girl-Weasly's in Gryffindor. She's one of my compatibles. She punched me, the other day. Nice right hook."

"Brown's in Gryffindor." Goyle started. "She's not exactly hard to get, no?"

"SHUT UP!" Draco yelled. They all did as they were told, but Theo shot daggers at him again for yelling again.

"Granger's my only compatible." Draco told them. Their reaction was not the ones that Draco had in mind.

"We know." Greg said with a shrug. "Zabini told us." Draco glared at Blaise, who had an innocent expression on his face.

"It doesn't make sense!" Draco cried out. Theo rolled his eyes and sighed.

"It does." Theodore spoke. Draco looked at him, motioning for him to go on. Theodore was the most reasonable of the three, he _had_ to have a good reason for his saying that. "She's the only one who challenges you, mate."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Draco yelled defensively.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "We all know that you don't do anything if it's too easy. You enjoy a challenge." Goyle nodded in agreement.

"Best you accept it. You can't change it." Theodore finished, a smug grin on his face.

"She's can't be compatible to me! She's not compatible to me!" convinced Draco, a scowl on his face.

"She has brains, she's attractive, she plays hard to get, I don't see what you mean by 'she's not compatible to me.'" Blaise said, repeating the last bit in a high-pitched whiny tone.

"Drakie! I thought I heard you!" squealed a feminine voice. All the boys either grimaced and groaned, it was Pansy. "I've barely seen you since that night where you found out that you were compatible to (shudder) Granger."

She walked over to Draco, swinging her hips, and she sat down on his lap. Blaise looked repulsed, Theodore's eyebrows were raised in amusement, Goyle looked on the verge puking as Pansy started to blink her eyes rapidly at Draco.

Draco pushed Pansy off. "Get away from me, Pansy!" he shouted, rising to his feet. He had lost all interest in Pansy the previous year, when she had tried to convince his father for an engagement to be arranged between herself and Draco. Pansy stood up from the ground and dusted herself off, as if she wasn't thrown on the ground like a potato sack.

"You know, I like it when a _man_ plays hard to get." Pansy purred. She jumped on him, straddling his waist. Draco nearly fell down at the sudden weight he was forced to support.

Draco untangled Pansy's arms from his waist and dismissed her, declaring that if she did it again, he would hex her. She frowned, but as she went up the stairs that led to the girls dormitories, she winked at him, causing him to shudder.

"She's ugly. She disgusts me." Goyle claimed.

"Who's better, Pansy or Hermione?" Theo asked.

"Hermione?" Draco repeated, not believing that his friend called Granger by her first name.

"We sometimes study together. Get over it and answer my question." Theo said calmly.

"Well of course it's Granger-"

"Ha!" Blaise exclaimed, a triumphant look on his face.

"That doesn't mean anything, I prefer _Potter_ over Parkinson!" Draco spat. He realized that his friends were in a too-playful mood, making it hard to shield his already damaged ego from their taunts. He stood up and left without saying a goodbye, slamming the portrait door purposely, just to get on Nott's nerves.

Of course, he had the luck to bump into Filch on the way to the Heads dorms. "Why are you out of bed?" the caretaker snarled.

Draco rolled his eyes and flashed the old man his head boy badge. It gleamed in the faint light illuminated from the man's lamp. The man frowned, disappointed that he could not punish the student, and he walked away, his creepy cat following him.

When he got in the dorm, he immediately went to his room and lied down on his bed. He was tired and he wanted to rest. He forced himself to sleep, reading 'Hogwarts : A History' and curling him the warmth of his bed. When he felt his eyes droop, he turned the lights off and went to sleep.

Next morning, he woke up at 7 and went outside to the bathroom. The bathroom was humid, telling him that Granger had already been in here. He took a quick shower and put on a shirt and a pair of pants. He buttoned his robes over his body and swaggered out the door and out into the corridors, heading for the Grand Hall for breakfast.

As he made his way to the usual table he sat at, he saw Granger walking over to him, a bagel in hand.

"We need to announce the date of the dance today. Like, right now." Hermione told him, gesturing to her watch, her own little way of saying that they did not have a lot of time. Draco sighed, he had barely sat down! He snatched the bagel out of her hand and bit down on it, wanting to get her back for making him lose breakfast-time.

"Hey!" she protested. "That was mine!"

He sneered at her. "Keyword being 'was'." He ate on the bagel, over exaggerating his chews. Hermione muttered 'immature git' under her breath, but he pretended not to hear her.

She scowled and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the front of the Grand Hall.

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pockets and pointed it to her throat, muttering a spell under her breath. "Ah, ah." she sounded out, her voice magnified. "May I have your attention?" she asked the students. They all looked up at her, pausing in whatever they were doing, whether they were eating or talking.

She continued when she saw that she had the hall's attention. "There will be a dance in about 2 months time, it will be held on Christmas Eve." **(A/N I know that not a lot of time passed yet, but let's say it's the middle of October, 'kay?** ) The Hall burst into excited chatter. "Wait!" Hermione called out. "The dance is 6th and 7th years only!" A majority of the excited students made faces. Many were not happy with this arrangement, seeing that more than two thirds of the whole number of Hogwarts students were yet to be in 6th and 7th year.

A 3rd year raised her hand and started to speak. All eyes were on that girl.

"What if we get invited by an older student as their date?"

Draco scoffed, obviously not believing that a 6th, or 7th, year would invited a 3th year like her as their date. "It is an event related to the love amulet thing." Draco fished out his own amulet, which was glowing due to his close proximity to Hermione, from his robes and held it out. "Now will everybody shut their holes and see what she," Draco pointed at Hermione, "has to say?!"

Hermione resumed speaking, sending him a grateful look. "To come to the dance, one must be with one of their compatibles as their date."

Draco opened his mouth to offer more information. "It's the ministry new stupid idea for the older students to 'get along.' They want us to be closer, I'm guessing next they want to marry us off to each other or something equally ridiculous."

"Uh...yeah." Hermione commented lamely, not even bothering to scold Malfoy for his unprocessed description of the purpose of the dance. She did not want to argue with him already, it was not even noon.

Hermione and Draco stepped down from the pedestal, confirming that they were finished with the announcement. They weaved in and out of the crowds of students that had gotten up, going to their tables to finish their meal.

When Draco got to his table, he found that the seat in front of him, where Blaise had sat, was empty. He stuffed some pancakes into his mouth and searched for the Italian boy.

Hermione sat down in her seat, which was next to Ginny's. Some of the students were already asking their compatibles to be their dates. Almost everyone was excited, well every female in the 6th and 7th year.

Ron groaned in his nearby seat. "Who am I suppose to ask?"

Ginny smirked, finding joy in her brother's depression. "I guess you'll have to ask Parkinson, dear brother. I hear Brown's going out with one of her compatibles, Finnigan. And Luna can obviously do better than you." Ron scowled, and stole her toast as a defense mechanism.

Hermione found another bagel, she had to replace the one that was stolen. She smoothed out some cream cheese on it and proceeded to take a bite. As she chewed on it, someone tapped on her's shoulder. Hermione turned around, still munching on the bread, to see who it was. She smiled up at the ocean blue eyes. She quickly swallowed the last of her toast.

"Oh hi, Evan!" she said.

"Hi." Evan said back. "I know we're not that close yet, but would you like to accompany me to the dance?"

These things always seemed to happen in the mornings.

 **Disappointed? No? Love it? NO?! Sorry, I'm not good at guessing, I guess you'll just have to tell me :)**


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